TRAINING 


FOR 


CITIZENSHIP 


JOSEPH -WARREN -SMITH 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT    OF 

Class 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA 


DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION 


GIFT  OF  THE   PUBLISHER 


No.  $  9^\  Received       /  ^  0  3 


TRAINING 


FOR 


CITIZENSHIP 


AN  ELEMENTARY  TREATISE 
ON   THE    RIGHTS   AND    DUTIES    OF    CITIZENS 


BASED  ON 

THE  RELATIONS  WHICH    EXIST   BETWEEN   ORGANIZED 

SOCIETY  AND  ITS  INDIVIDUAL  MEMBERS,  AND 

BETWEEN  THE   INDIVIDUAL  MEMBERS  OF 

ORGANIZED  SOCIETY 


BY 

JOSEPH    WARREN   SMITH,  A.M. 

Attorney  at  Law 
Formerly  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Bay  City,  Michigan 


LOTHROP   PUBLISHING    COMPANY 


1-1 


COPYRIGHT,  1902, 

BY  LOTHROP 

PUBLISHING 

COMPANY. 


Nortoooto  $ress 

J.  S.  Gushing  &  Co.  -  Berwick  &  Smith 
Norwood  Mass.  US. A. 


Preface 


THIS  work  upon  civics  owes  its  existence  to  the  fact 
that  no  one,  so  far  as  the  author  is  aware,  has  attempted 
to  cover  the  field  in  a  similar  way.  There  are  numerous 
works  upon  civil  government  in  which  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  has  been  discussed  with  great  ability; 
other  books  have  treated  the  subject  from  the  social  stand- 
point ;  still  others  have  presented  the  principles  of  law ; 
but  this  is  an  attempt  to  combine  the  essential  elements 
of  all  these  features,  and,  with  an  historical  background 
as  a  setting,  to  render  the  relation  of  one  field  to  another 
of  easy  comprehension  to  the  immature  mind.  If  this  has 
been  successfully  done,  the  result  will  be  of  substantial 
advantage  to  the  many  youth  in  our  schools  who  are  even 
now  upon  the  very  threshold  of  life. 

An  examination  of  the  plan  will  show  that  considerable 
prominence  has  been  given  to  the  township  and  its  gov- 
ernment, for  it  is  here  that  the  pupil  has  the  best  oppor- 
tunity to  observe  the  workings  of  the  governmental  machine 
in  its'  simplest  form.  Chapters  V,  XIX,  and  XXII  are 
transitional,  and  are  introduced  with  a  view  to  the  im- 
parting of  such  information  as  will  make  the  learner  at 
home  in  his  new  surroundings ;  still  other  chapters  par- 

3 

221725 


PREFACE 


take  of  this  nature,  but  the  idea  has  not  been  kept  so 
prominent. 

During  the  preparation  of  the  book  the  author  was  so 
fortunate  as  to  spend  a  number  of  months  in  Michigan, 
California,  Arizona,  and  Florida,  and  availed  himself  of 
the  best  of  opportunities  to  observe  the  peculiarities  of  the 
local  government,  and  has  aimed  so  to  frame  his  state- 
ments as  to  meet  the  varying  local  conditions  he  has  seen. 
It  is  confidently  believed  that  with  the  aid  of  the  Revised 
Statutes,  which  may  usually  be  had  for  school  use  for  the 
asking,  no  state  edition  will  be  necessary. 

The  sources  from  which  the  materials  for  this  work 
have  been  drawn  are  so  diverse  that  an  enumeration  will 
not  be  attempted.  The  writer  will,  however,  acknowledge 
his  indebtedness  to  Hinsdale's  "American  Government" 
and  to  Bryce's  "American  Commonwealth,"  both  of  which 
should  be  available  for  reference.  He  gratefully  acknowl- 
edges the  assistance  his  wife  has  rendered  him  in  offering 
suggestions  and  in  the  preparation  of  the  manuscript. 
He  is  also  under  obligations  to  Colonel  Hawley  of  Los 
Angeles  for  the  very  neat  description  of  surveying  the 
public  lands. 

JOSEPH    WARREN    SMITH. 


Contents 


PART   I 

ELEMENTARY  PRINCIPLES— THE  HOME,    THE  SCHOOL 
CHAPTER   I 

PAGE 

INDIVIDUAL  RIGHTS 15 

Selecting  a  definition;  a  citizen;  classes  of  citizens;  absolute 
rights;  the  police  power;  personal  security;  personal  liberty;  pri- 
vate property;  religious  belief  and  worship;  value  of  absolute 
rights;  political  duties;  social  and  other  duties;  (i)  social  duties, 
(2)  industrial  duties,  (3)  legal  duties,  (4)  moral  duties. 

CHAPTER  II 

PRINCIPLES  AND  DEFINITIONS 22 

Law  of  conduct;  law  defined;  natural  law;  law  of  property; 
different  sciences;  definitions;  origin  of  government;  forms  of 
government;  the  three  departments;  ruler  and  subject;  a  consti- 
tution; common  law;  statute  law;  the  penalty;  administrative  and 
jural  laws;  limiting  the  powers  of  government;  (i)  strict-construc- 
tionists,  (2)  loose-constructionists,  (3)  socialists,  (4)  communists, 
(5)  anarchists. 

CHAPTER   III 

THE  HOME  AND  ITS  GOVERNMENT 33 

Our  home;  the  marriage  relation;  the  family;  object  of  the 
family;  form  of  government;  parental  duty;  parental  authority; 
obedience  of  children;  resources  of  the  family;  the  homestead; 
exemptions. 

5 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   IV 

PAGE 

THE  SCHOOL  AND  ITS  GOVERNMENT 39 

Education  a  necessity;  the  tuition  school;  the  public  school; 
private  schools;  definition  of  a  school;  the  school  district;  the 
school  board;  the  school  trustee;  authority  of  the  teacher;  school 
regulations;  examination  of  teachers;  resources. 

CHAPTER  V 

FROM  INFANCY  TO  MANHOOD 47 

Infancy;  childhood;  youth;  associates;  civil  officers;  other 
officials;  legal  liability  of  a  minor;  the  law  a  shield;  self-control; 
personal  habits. 


PART   II 

THE    TOWNSHIP  AND  ITS  GOVERNMENT 
CHAPTER   VI 

THE  CONGRESSIONAL  TOWNSHIP 55 

Historical;  cessions  to  Congress;  disposal  of  the  public  lands; 
government  survey;  the  congressional  township;  prime  meridian 
and  base  line;  the  townships;  convergence  of  meridians;  correc- 
tion lines;  sections;  descriptions;  acquiring  lands;  (i)  under  the 
homestead  laws;  (2)  under  the  preemption  laws;  (3)  under  the 
timber  culture  act. 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  CIVIL  TOWNSHIP 62 

Historical;  the  New  England  town;  a  political  division;  apoliti- 
cal unit;  the  birth  of  a  township;  twofold  purpose;  a  pure  democ- 
racy; the  town  meeting;  the  judicial  township;  township  and 
county  units. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

CIVIL  TOWNSHIP  —  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENTS 68 

Powers  and  duties  classified;  the  elective  franchise;  the  town- 
ship charter;  distribution  of  powers;  township  officers;  chief 
executive;  township  clerk;  treasurer;  highway  commissioner; 
other  officers;  the  county  system. 

6 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   IX 

PAGE 

CIVIL  TOWNSHIP  —  LEGISLATIVE  DEPARTMENT 73 

Vesting  of  legislative  powers;  township  board;  judicial  powers 
of  the  board;  board  of  registration;  board  of  election  inspectors; 
board  of  health;  board  of  review;  board  of  school  inspectors; 
under  the  county  system. 

CHAPTER   X 

THE  CHOICE  OF  TOWNSHIP  OFFICERS 78 

Candidates;  preparation  for  voting;  the  polls;  method  of  vot- 
ing; preparing  the  ballot;  challenges;  the  canvass;  majority  and 
plurality;  qualifying  as  an  officer;  assuming  the  office. 

CHAPTER  XI 

PRIVATE  PROPERTY 83 

Nature  of  private  property;  definition  of  labor;  division  of  labor; 
exchange;  commerce;  money;  the  coinage;  paper  money;  value 
of  paper  money;  taxation;  eminent  domain. 

CHAPTER   XII 

REAL  PROPERTY 89 

Land;  buildings;  waters;  wild  animals;  kind  of  interest;  free- 
holds; dower  and  courtesy;  community  property;  title  to  real 
property;  deeds;  mortgages;  foreclosure;  registration. 

CHAPTER   XIII 

PERSONAL  PROPERTY 96 

Varieties  of  personal  property;  goods  and  chattels;  title  by  pos- 
session; title  by  contract;  commercial  paper;  promissory  notes; 
quality  of  title;  transfer  of  title  by  sale;  chattel  mortgages. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

BUSINESS  ENTERPRISES 101 

A  business  enterprise;  a  partnership;  corporations;  (i)  powers, 
(2)  management,  (3)  shareholders;  joint-stock  companies;  stock 
exchanges;  banks;  insurance;  credit  agencies;  indemnity  compa- 
nies; building-loan  associations;  employment  agencies;  trusts. 

7 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XV 


PAGE 


PROTECTION  OF  PERSON  AND  PROPERTY 112 

Courts  as  instruments  of  protection;  two  kinds  of  injuries;  two 
kinds  of  law;  civil  injuries  founded  on  contract;  civil  injuries 
founded  on  wrongs;  a  crime;  misdemeanors;  a  felony;  treason; 
perjury;  murder;  arson;  civil  injury  and  crime;  compounding  a 
felony. 

CHAPTER   XVI 

THE  TOWNSHIP  COURT  — CIVIL  SIDE 118 

A  court;  a  justice's  court;  a  justice's  jury;  the  jury  in  history; 
qualifications  of  jurors;  civil  jurisdiction;  the  complaint;  the  sum- 
mons; obtaining  possession  of  property  before  suit;  the  subpoena; 
the  trial;  the  verdict;  the  judgment;  the  appeal;  the  execution. 

CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  TOWNSHIP  COURT  —  CRIMINAL  SIDE 126 

Criminal  jurisdiction  ;  the  complaint;  a  warrant;  the  arrest;  ad- 
mitting to  bail;  the  arraignment;  the  trial;  the  sentence. 

CHAPTER   XVIII 

A  CIVIL  CASE  IN  A  JUSTICE'S  COURT 131 

Commencement  of  suit;  service  and  return;  the  declaration ;  the 
adjournment;  joining  issue;  striking  a  jury;  the  venire;  selecting 
the  jury;  talesmen;  examination  of  jurors;  plaintiff's  statement; 
defendant's  statement;  the  evidence;  further  evidence;  the  argu- 
ments; concluding  argument;  the  verdict;  the  judgment;  the 
appeal. 

PART   III 

THE    VILLAGE,    CITY,   AND   COUNTY  GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER   XIX 
FORMATIVE  INFLUENCES 143 

Mental  habit;    social  customs;    industrial  conditions;    great  in- 
.     ventions;    religion;    Magna  Charta;    habeas   corpus;    the   Bill  of 
Rights;  the  Declaration  of  Independence;    the  national  constitu- 
tion;  ordinance  of  1787;   emancipation  proclamation;   popular  ex- 
pressions;  public  men;   writers  and  inventors. 

8 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   XX 

PAGE 

VILLAGES  AND  CITIES .        .        .        .151 

Historical;  incorporation;  how  villages  and  cities  are  born;  the 
charter;  general  principles;  a  cooperative  association;  identical 
features;  national  features;  ordinances;  subordinate  boards; 
village  courts;  city  courts;  choice  of  officers. 

CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  COUNTY  —  ITS  LEGISLATURE 158 

The  English  county;  the  New  England  county;  the  Southern 
county;  the  compromise  county;  definition  of  a  county;  size  and 
boundaries;  the  county  seat;  the  board  of  supervisors;  the  judicial 
powers  of  the  board;  the  county  charter;  subordinate  boards. 

CHAPTER   XXII 

POLITICAL  MACHINERY  — CAUCUS  AND  PRIMARY 164 

Political  parties;  the  county  committee;  township  and  ward 
politics;  a  political  caucus;  political  clubs;  the  primary;  holding 
a  primary;  ratio  of  representation;  delegates;  alternates  and 
proxies. 

CHAPTER   XXIII 

POLITICAL  MACHINERY  —  CONVENTION  AND  ELECTION         .        .        .171 

The  convention;  committee  reports;  real  work  of  the  conven- 
tion; nominations  by  petition;  the  campaign;  the  election;  can- 
vass of  votes. 

CHAPTER   XXIV 

ADMINISTRATIVE  OFFICERS     . 176 

Kinds  of  officers;  the  sheriff;  sheriff's  assistants;  county  clerk; 
the  treasurer;  register  of  deeds;  superintendent  of  schools;  other 
administrative  officers. 

CHAPTER   XXV 

THE  COUNTY  COURTS 181 

Necessity  for  county  courts;  circuit  courts;  probate  courts;  law 
and  equity;  jurisdiction;  the  grand  jury;  the  petit  jury;  super- 
visory powers;  appeals;  error;  mandamus;  injunctions;  the  circuit 
judge;  the  sheriff  as  court  officer;  the  clerk  as  court  officer;  attor- 
neys at  law;  the  county  attorney;  court  commissioners. 

9 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   XXVI 

PAGE 

THE  TERRITORIES 19° 

Historical;  a  European  colony;  an  American  territory;  the  con- 
stitution of  a  territory;  an  unorganized  territory;  an  organized 
territory;  executive  and  judicial  departments;  local  life;  admission 
to  statehood. 


PART   IV 

THE  STATE    GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

ONE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 201 

Definition  of  a  state;  a  sovereign  state;  boundaries;  colonial 
charters;  state  constitutions;  provisions  of  a  constitution;  inter- 
pretation of  the  constitution;  miscellaneous  provisions;  the  initia- 
tive; the  referendum;  resources. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT 208 

The  counties  combined;  a  business  association;  local  agents  of 
the  state;  the  governor  —  civil  executive,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
militia,  legislator,  judicial  duties;  qualifications  of  governor;  the 
lieutenant  governor;  removal  from  office. 

CHAPTER  XXIX 

AIDS  TO  THE  EXECUTIVE 214 

Number  of  departments;  the  secretary  of  state;  the  state  treas- 
urer; the  attorney  general;  the  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion; commissioner  of  insurance;  the  railroad  commissioner; 
administrative  boards;  the  militia;  the  state  library. 

CHAPTER  XXX 

THE  LEGISLATIVE  DEPARTMENT 221 

Bicameral;  the  membership;  the  Senate;  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives; sessions;  committees;  from  a  bill  to  a  law;  public 
acts;  local  acts;  the  lobby;  constitutional  limitations. 

10 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   XXXI 

PAGE 

THE  JUDICIAL  DEPARTMENT 231 

Purpose  of  the  courts;  the  judicial  system;  the  subordinate 
courts  —  the  justice's  court,  probate  courts,  county  courts,  municipal 
courts,  circuit  courts;  the  Supreme  Court;  supervisory  powers;  the 
supreme  judges;  supreme  court  officers;  courts  of  other  states. 


PART   V 

THE  NATIONAL    GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER   XXXII 

THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  NATION 241 

From  colony  to  state ;  colonial  unions;  the  New  England  Con- 
federation; the  Albany  plan;  the  continental  union;  the  Conti- 
nental Congress;  the  Confederation;  separating  influences;  unify- 
ing influences;  the  Constitutional  Convention;  the  Constitution  a 
compromise;  nature  of  the  compromise;  interpretation  of  the 
Constitution;  amending  the  Constitution;  checks  and  balances; 
federalism. 

/ 

CHAPTER   XXXIII 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  NATION 253 

State  and  nation;  the  three  departments;  the  President  —  civil 
executive,  military  duties,  legislator,  judicial  duties,  foreign  repre- 
sentative; qualifications  of  President;  choice  of  President;  the 
electoral  college;  choice  by  Congress;  the  Vice-President. 

CHAFFER   XXXIV 

AIDS  TO  THE  NATIONAL  EXECUTIVE      .        . 260 

The  English  Cabinet;  advisers  to  the  governors;  the  American 
Cabinet;  comparisons;  departmental  business;  secretary  of  state; 
secretary  of  the  treasury;  secretary  of  war;  secretary  of  the  navy; 
postmaster  general;  the  attorney  general;  secretary  of  the  interior 
—  pension  office,  land  office,  patent  office,  Indian  affairs,  census 
bureau;  secretary  of  agriculture  —  experiment  stations,  weather 
bureau;  independent  departments. 

I  I 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   XXXV 

PAGE 

DOMESTIC  AND  FOREIGN  RELATIONS 272 

The  civil  service;  civil  service  reform;  education;  Smithsonian 
Institution,  Indian  schools;  public  international  relations;  private 
international  relations  —  the  diplomatic  service,  the  consular  ser- 
vice; the  army  —  composition,  military  rank,  bureau  of  military 
justice,  educational  features;  the  navy. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

THE  NATIONAL  LEGISLATURE 283 

National  and  state  legislatures  compared;  sessions  of  Congress; 
the  Senate  —  special  powers,  organization,  membership;  the  House 
—  ratio  of  representation,  special  powers,  organization,  congres- 
sional districts,  membership;  the  committee  system;  congressional 
legislation;  powers  of  Congress — express,  implied;  magnitude  of 
business. 

CHAPTER   XXXVII 

THE  NATIONAL  JUDICIARY 293 

Historical;  departments  interdependent  ;  United  States  commis- 
sioners; district  courts;  court  of  claims;  circuit  courts;  circuit 
courts  of  appeal;  the  Supreme  Court;  common  to  more  courts 
than  one. 


12 


Part   I 

Elementary  Principles  —  The  Home 
The  School 


CHAPTER  I.  Individual  Rights 

CHAPTER  II.  Principles  and  Definitions 

CHAPTER  III.  The  Home  and  its  Government 

CHAPTER  IV.  The  School  and  its  Government 

CHAPTER  V.  From  Infancy  to  Manhood 


I 

INDIVIDUAL  RIGHTS 


"  All  men  are  by  nature  free  and  independent,  and  have  certain 
inalienable  rights,  among  which  are  those  of  enjoying  and  defending 
life  and  liberty  ;  acquiring,  possessing,  and  protecting  property  ;  and 
pursuing  and  obtaining  safety  and  happiness." 

—  Constitution  of  California. 


1.  Selecting   a   Definition.  —  When   we   wish    to   know 
the  meaning  of  a  word,   our  first  thought  is  to  consult 
the  dictionary.     It  would  not,   however,   always   be   safe 
for  us  to  accept  the  first   definition  we   might  see;    for 
very  likely  it  would    not  make  good   sense  in  the  place 
we   might  wish   to  use    it.      Even   a   shade  of    meaning 
often  makes  a  great  difference. 

2.  A  Citizen.  —  The  word  "citizen,"  for  example,  is  used 
in  two   senses,  —  a   narrow   and  a  broad.     In   a   narrow 
sense,  a  citizen  is  any  person  who  has  the  right  to  vote  for 
a   public  officer,    and    may  himself   hold   a   public  office. 
In  a  broad  sense,  a  citizen  is  any  inhabitant  of  a  state 
who  is  not  an  alien. 

3.  Classes  of  Citizens.  —  Citizens   may  be  divided  into 
two  classes,  —  native-born    and    naturalized.     Native-born 
are    those    who    have    been    citizens    from    birth.      The 
citizenship  of  the  parent  at  the  birth  of  the  child,  as  a 
rule,  determines  the  citizenship  of  the  child.     Naturalized 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


are  such  as  have  been  given  the  rights  of  citizenship. 
An  alien  is  one  who  owes  allegiance  to  a  foreign 
government. 

4.  Absolute  Rights.  —  The  absolute  rights  which  belong- 
to   every  citizen   are  personal    liberty,    personal   security, 
private  property,   and  religious  belief  and  worship.     To 
secure  these  rights,  certain  regulations  have  been  adopted 
from    time    to    time    by    society,    and    every   person    has 
agreed,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  be  bound  by  them.     In 
return    for   this    obedience,   society,  as    a   whole,    or   the 
state,  guarantees  protection. 

5.  The  Police  Power. — The  police  power  is  the  right 
which   society   has   to   make    and   enforce   laws   for    the 
protection  of  its  citizens.     This  it  accomplishes  through 
the    agency  of    civil  officers.      A    good    citizen    has    not 
done   his  whole   duty  when    he   has   merely  obeyed  the 
laws.      Whenever  he  sees  that  they  are  being  violated, 
or  knows  them   to  have  been   violated,   he   is   bound   to 
take  all  proper  steps  to  bring  the  offenders   to   justice. 
The  officers  would   never   be    able   to   enforce  the  lawsx 
without  a    strong    public    sentiment    which    the    citizens 
must  themselves  create. 

6.  Personal  Security.  —  By  personal  security  we  mean 
the  right  which  every  one  has  to  enjoy  his  life,  his  body, 
his  health,  and  his  reputation.     No  man  is  permitted  to 
take,    wantonly,    the   life  of    another,    nor   to   inflict  any 
injury   upon    him   that  will  cause   pain   or   sickness.     If 
we  are  ill,  we  are  entitled  to  medical  attendance,  and  if 
we  are  too  poor  to  employ  a  physician,  society  will   do 
so  for  us.     Nor   must   any  one  be  allowed  to  injure  our 
good  name,  which  is  more  precious  than  life  itself. 


INDIVIDUAL    RIGHTS 


7.  Personal  Liberty.  —  Personal  liberty  consists  in  our 
right  to  go  wherever  our  inclination  may  direct,  without 
interference  from  any  one.     Formerly,  even  in  this  country, 
the  people  were  divided  into  two  classes,  —  freemen  and 
slaves ;  but  since  the  Civil  War  there  have  been  no  slaves 
in  America.     Every  free  man  has  this  right  of  personal 
liberty ;  a  slave  does  not. 

8.  Private    Property.  —  The  right  of   private   property 
(114)  consists  in  the  right  to  use,  enjoy,  and  dispose  of 
any   property    that   one    may    have,  without   interference 
from   another.     As    society  is  at  present   organized,  this 
right  is  a  necessity.     One  cannot  be  in  the  full  enjoyment 
of  his  body  or  his  life,  if  he  does  not  have  the  means  of 
protecting  his  life  and  of  nourishing  his  body. 

9.  Religious    Belief    and    Worship.  —  But    the   aim   of 
society  is  not  fully  accomplished  when  it  secures  to  every 
citizen  safety,  liberty,  and  property.     A  free  government 
will   also  protect  him  in  entertaining  and  expressing  his 
opinion  upon  all  questions  which  relate  to  the  public  wel- 
fare.    This  is  especially  true  as  to  religion,  which  is,  and 
always  has   been,  one  of   the  greatest   forces   in   human 
affairs.     The  right  of  religious  belief  and  worship  may  be 
defined  as  the  right  which  one  has  to  worship  God  in  any 
manner,  or  not  at  all,  as  he  sees  fit.     For  any  error  he 
may  make  the  individual  is  responsible,  not  to  society,  but 
to  God  himself.     No  one,  however,  is  permitted,  under  the 
cloak  of  religion,  to  commit  an  act  which  society,  by  means 
of  public  law,  has  declared  to  be  a  crime. 

10.  Value  of  Absolute   Rights.  —  These  rights  are  the 
inheritance  of   every  native-born  citizen,  and  every  alien 
acquires    them  when    he   becomes  a  citizen.     We  are  so 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


accustomed  to  their  enjoyment  that  we  do  not  realize  their 
present  value ;  nor  that  it  has  cost  millions  of  lives,  billions 
of  dollars,  and  untold  suffering  to  acquire  and  preserve 
them.  Any  one  who  interferes  with  our  exercise  of  these 
rights  is  a  trespasser ;  and  the  offence,  when  accompanied 
by  violence,  is  a  crime.  If  by  our  conduct  we  show  our- 
selves unworthy  of  these  great  privileges,  they  can  be 
taken  from  us ;  but  this  must  be  done  in  an  orderly  man- 
ner, and  such  as  is  prescribed  by  the  law  of  the  land. 

11.  Political  Duties.  —  The   relation  which  the  citizen 
sustains  to  the  state,  and  to  his  fellow-men,  impose  upon 
him  certain  obligations.    With  reference  to  the  state,  these 
may  be  classified  as  political ;  with  reference  to  his  fellow- 
men,  they  are  social,  industrial,  legal,  and  moral.     Political 
duties  are  such  as  pertain  to  the  part  one  should  take  in 
administering  the  government.     It  js  the  duty  of  a  good 
citizen  to  learn  all  he  can  about  the  nature  of  the  govern- 
ment  under  which  he  lives,  how  its  laws  are  made    and 
enforced,  the  character  of  its  foreign  and  domestic  policy, 
its    glorious    history,  and  the  theories    advocated   by  the 
great  political  parties  for  the  shaping  of  its  future  destiny. 
A  good  citizen  will  attend  the  primaries,  cast  his  vote  for 
the  best  men,  and  even  seek  office  himself,  if  the  welfare 
of  the  community  demands  it. 

12.  Social  and  Other  Duties.  —  But  if  no  one  did  more 
than  merely  discharge  his  political  duties,  there  would  be 
no  progress,  no  improvement,  society  would  be  at  a  stand- 
still, and  the  character  of  all  our  institutions  would  eventu- 
ally  decline.      There   are   elements   in    society   which    to 
advance   their   own    personal   interests    will   not    hesitate 
to  trample  on  the  rights  of  others.     They  pass  sleepless 

18 


INDIVIDUAL    RIGHTS 


nights  in  inventing  ways  to  evade  the  laws  ;  they  combine 
their  skill  and  their  money  to  secure  enactments  which 
will  favor  their  selfish  ends  (242)  ;  they  engage  in  pursuits 
which  tend  to  debase  humanity.  By  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  our  social,  industrial,  legal,  and  moral  duties, 
we  may  each  be  instrumental  in  reforming  and  elevating 
these  influences. 

1.  Social  Duties.  —  Social  duties  are  such  as  are  con- 
cerned with  the  improvement    of    humanity.     Ignorance, 
pauperism,    and    crime    are    to   be   found   in    every    com- 
munity ;    and   the   evils  which    flow   from  these    sources, 
unless  checked,  will  destroy  the  very  foundations  of  the 
government.     We  ought,  then,  to  give  our  active  assistance 
to  all  those  agencies  which  aim  to  alleviate  suffering,  ban- 
ish ignorance,  or  prevent  crime.     We  should  support  the 
churches,  favor  enterprises  which  will  give  employment  to 
labor,  assist  charitable  institutions,  and  extend  a  helpful 
hand  to  the  poor. 

2.  Industrial  Duties.  —  Perhaps  the  most  important  duty 
which  we  owe  to  society  at  large  is  to  support  ourselves. 
The  world  does  not  owe  us  a  living  ;  but  only  an  oppor- 
tunity for   earning  it.       In    our  youth  we  should  obtain, 
not  only  intellectual  education,  but  an  industrial  one.     By 
the  latter  term  is  meant  any  kind  of  training  which  will 
enable  us  to  make  a  living  for  ourselves,  and  for   those 
who  may  hereafter  be  dependent  upon  us. 

3.  Legal  Duties.  —  We  cannot  be  members  of  society 
without  sustaining  relations  to  others  which  are  legal  in 
their  nature.     Such  are  those  of  parent  and  child,  master 
and  servant,  pupil  and  teacher,  guardian  and  ward,  debtor 
and  creditor.     It  is  our  duty  to  serve  on  juries,  to  pay  our 


TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


taxes,  and  even  to  protect  our  property  by  a  suit  at  law 
when  occasion  requires  it. 

4.  Moral  Duties.  —  But  religion  and  morality  are  also 
essential  to  national  character.  At  present  reformatories 
and  prisons  are  as  necessary  as  schoolhouses  and  churches ; 
and  our  civil  courts  spend  far  more  time  in  rescuing  our 
property  from  schemes  of  dishonest  men  than  in  settling 
honest  difficulties.  All  this  would  be  changed  if  every 
one  would  take  the  Golden  Rule  for  his  life's  motto,  and 
seek  to  do  right  for  right's  sake. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  The  selecting  of  a  definition. 

2.  A  citizen  in  two  senses. 

3.  Native-born  and  naturalized  citizens. 

4.  Our  absolute  rights. 

5.  The  police  power. 

6.  Rights  enumerated  :  — 

(1)  Personal  security. 

(2)  Personal  liberty. 

(3)  Private  property. 

(4)  Religious  belief  and  worship. 

7.  Value  of  absolute  rights. 

8.  Political  duties. 

9.  Other  duties  enumerated  :  — 

(1)  Industrial. 

(2)  Social. 

(3)  Legal. 

(4)  Moral. 


20 


INDIVIDUAL    RIGHTS 


QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Commit  to  memory  the  first  paragraph  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence. 

2.  Is  it  our  duty  to  feed  a  hungry  tramp? 

3.  How  does  "  due  process  of  law"  differ  in  meaning  from  "  law  of 
the  land  "  ? 

4.  Why  is  it  ever  one's  duty  to  protect  his  property  by  a  suit  at 
law? 

5.  The  principle,  "  once  a  subject,  always  a  subject,"  led  to  what 
war? 

6.  What  is  duress  ? 

7.  Is  teaching  an  industrial  pursuit  ? 

8.  How  does  a  reformatory  differ  from  a  prison  ? 

9.  In  what  does  the  offence  known  as  "  lese  majesty  "  consist? 
10.  How  does  a  right  differ  from  a  duty  ? 


21 


II 

PRINCIPLES  AND  DEFINITIONS 


"And  sovereign  law,  the  state's  collected  will, 

O'er  thrones  and  globes  elate 
Sits  Empress,  assisting  good,  repressing  ill." 


13.  Law  of  Conduct.  —  We  often  hear  it  said  that  this  is 
a  free  country,  and  so  it  is ;  but  this  does  not  mean  that 
every  one  can  do  as  he  pleases.     We  are  each  entitled  to 
the  enjoyment  of   our   absolute   rights;    but  we  must  be 
careful  so  to  regulate  our  conduct  as  not  to  interfere  with 
another's  right  to  the  same  privilege.     It  is  not  likely  that 
we  should  always  be  able  to  do  this,  if  it  were  not  for  cer- 
tain regulations  which  society  has  adopted  for  the  guidance 
of  its  members.     This  principle  lies  at  the  foundation  of 
the  police  power  (5). 

14.  Law  Defined.  —  A  law  may  be  defined  as  a  rule  of 
conduct,  prescribed  by  a  superior,  and  which  an  inferior  is 
bound  to  obey.     The  four  things  to  be  considered  in  this 
definition  are  the  superior,  the  inferior,  the  expression  of  the 
will  of  the  superior,  and  the  necessity  for  obedience. 

15.  Natural  Law.  —  Place  a  feather  and  a  bullet  in  a 
glass  tube  from  which  the  air  has  been  exhausted ;  now 
invert  the  tube,  and  the  feather  and  the  bullet  will  be  seen 
to  reach  the  bottom  at  the  same  instant.     This  is  an  illus- 
tration of  the  law  of  falling  bodies.     Here  the  superior  is 

22 


PRINCIPLES    AND    DEFINITIONS 

the  Creator,  the  inferior  is  the  feather  and  the  bullet,  the 
force  of  gravity  is  the  law,  and  the  obedience  of  the.  infe- 
rior cannot  be  avoided. 

16.  Law  of  Property.  —  We  all  know  that  we  must  not 
take  and  carry  away  any  of  our  neighbor's  property  with- 
out his  knowledge  and  consent.     The  law  which  forbids 
this  was  established  by  society  for  the  protection  of  one  of 
our  absolute  rights.     This  is  a  reasonable  regulation,  for 
unless  we  obey  it,  private  property  cannot  exist. 

17.  Different  Sciences.  —  A  little  thought  will  show  you 
that  these  laws  differ  very  materially  in  their  nature.    They 
represent  two  classes,  one  of  which  pertains  to  things,  the 
other  to  human  actions.     The  one  class  forms  the  basis  of 
the  so-called  physical  sciences ;  the  other,  of  the  political 
sciences,  among  which  is  civil  government. 

1 8.  Definitions.  —  Civil    government  is   that  branch  of 
political  science  which  treats  of   the  political  rights  and 
duties  of  the  citizen  (n).     The  word  "civil"  means  relat- 
ing to  the  citizen  ;   and  the  science  of  civil   government 
deals  with   the    relation    of    the    citizen   to   the   state  (4). 
Political  economy  is  that  branch  of  political  science  which 
treats  of  the  production  and  distribution  of  wealth.     The 
former  deals  with  the -essential  functions  of  government, 
as  the  keeping  of  the  peace   and  the   administration  of 
justice  in  civil  causes ;    the  latter,  with  the  non-essential 
functions,  as  the  regulation  of  trade  and  industry.     The 
rights  which  the  second  political  science  seeks  to  advance 
are  called  economic,  because  they  pertain  to  the  comfort 
of  the  nation  considered  as  one  family. 

19.  Origin  of  Government.  —  There   are  three  theories 
as  to  the  origin  of  government,  two  of  which  assert  that 

23 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


the  Creator  is  the  source  of  all  power.  The  first  maintains 
that  He  has  conferred  the  right  to  rule  upon  one  person, 
who,  therefore,  is  the  supreme  ruler  by  divine  appoint- 
ment. Such  was  the  theory  of  the  Stuart  kings  of  Eng- 
land, and  is  now  in  all  those  states  where  the  Moham- 
medan religion  prevails.  The  second  theory  holds  that 
the  Creator  gave  to  all  the  people  who  compose  the  nation 
the  right  to  choose  their  own  rulers.  The  third  theory  is 
that  of  the  social  compact  (222).  It  holds  that  at  our  birth 
we  entered  into  an  implied  contract  (161)  to  obey  the  rules 
of  organized  society  in  return  for  the  advantages  which  it 
affords. 

20.  Forms  of  Government.  —  The  form  of  a  government 
depends  upon  the  character  of  its  law-making  power ;  and 
it  often  happens,  as  in  the  case  of  Greece,  that  the  history 
of  one  nation  will  illustrate  several  forms.  A  despotism 
is  where  one  person  carries  everything  by  his  own  will  and 
caprice,  without  law  and  without  rule.  In  an  absolute 
monarchy  the  chief  ruler  governs  according  to  the  forms 
of  law,  but  his  power  to  change  the  laws  is  unrestricted. 
An  oligarchy  is  where  the  chief  power  is  in  the  hands  of 
the  few.  An  aristocracy  is  where  the  government  is  admin- 
istered by  the  "best  people,"  or  in  other  words  by  the 
nobles.  Its  principle  is  that  "  not  to  the  common  crowd, 
but  to  the  select,  belongs  the  preference  in  government." 
A  pure  democracy  (80)  is  where  the  laws  are  made  by  all 
the  people.  A  democracy  has  been  defined  as  "  a  state 
where  everything  begins  and  ends  with  the  people."  A 
representative  democracy,  or  a  republic,  is  where  the  laws 
are  made  by  representatives  elected  by  the  people.  The 
principle  of  a  democracy  is  equal  rights  for  all  citizens. 


PRINCIPLES    AND    DEFINITIONS 

21.  The  Three  Departments.  —  If  you  will  examine  the 
book,  or  books,  in  which  are  published  the  laws  by  which 
this  state  is  governed,  you  will  observe  that  they  are  very 
numerous,  and  that  they  are  upon  a  great  many  different 
subjects.  Some  of  them  are  very  simple,  and  others  are 
apparently  very  complex ;  but  whether  simple  or  complex, 
none  of  them  were  made  by  any  one  man,  but  by  a  body 
of  men  especially  chosen  for  that  purpose.  This  body  of 
men  forms  the  legislative  department,  or,  as  it  is  generally 
called,  the  legislature. 

But  after  a  law  has  been  enacted,  some  one  must  set  it 
in  motion  when  occasion  requires.  For  example,  the  tax 
law  contains  carefully  drawn  directions  as  to  how  the 
taxes  shall  be  assessed  and  collected;  but  if  the  assessor 
never  makes  out  his  roll,  and  the  treasurer  never  calls 
upon  us  to  pay,  the  public  treasury  will  never  receive 
anything  from  this  source.  Those  officers  whose  duty 
it  is  to  enforce  the  laws  form  the  executive  department. 
They  are  also  very  properly  called  administrative  officers 

(271). 

It  sometimes  happens  that  the  provisions  of  a  law  are 
not  clearly  expressed,  and  an  executive  officer  will  think 
it  means  one  thing,  while  the  one  against  whom  he  is 
attempting  to  enforce  it  will  give  it  a  meaning  more  favor- 
able to  his  interests.  In  such  a  case  the  officer  will  insist 
upon  the  enforcement  of  the  law  according  to  his  under- 
standing of  it,  and  the  other  must  submit  for  the  time ;  but 
afterwards  he  can  appeal  to  another  man,  or  body  of  men, 
to  say  whether  he  or  the  officer  was  correct,  and  both  must 
abide  by  the  decision.  Those  men  whose  duty  it  is  to 
interpret  the  law  form  the  judicial  department. 

25 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


22.  Ruler  and  Subject.  —  When  we  speak  of  "  the  gov- 
ernment "  in  a  republic,  we  may  refer  to  the  body  of  rules 
by  which  the  will  of  the  people  is  made  known.     Usually, 
however,  we  have  in  mind  the  public  officers  who  make, 
interpret,  and  execute  the  laws.     We  generally  speak  of 
these   public   officers  as  "our   rulers,"  because   they  are 
placed  in  authority  over  us.      All  the  rest  are  regarded 
as  subjects. 

23.  A  Constitution.  —  A  constitution  in  this  country  is 
a  written  instrument  in  which  is  expressed  the  will  of  the 
whole   people.      The    state   constitutions    have,    in   most 
instances,  been  submitted  to  a  direct  vote  of  the  electors, 
and  when  adopted,  have  become  the  supreme  law  of  the 
state,   binding   alike    upon   the    highest    officer   and    the 
humblest  citizen.     No  law  passed  by  the  legislature  is  of 
any  validity  if  it  conflicts  with  any  provision  of  the  con- 
stitution.     The  constitution  of  England   does  not  consist 
of  a  single  act,  nor  was  it  ever  adopted  by  a  direct  vote  of 
the  electors,  but  by  their  representatives  in  Parliament. 

24.  Common  Law.  —  Common  law  consists  of  all  those 
principles,  usages,  and  rules  of  action,  applicable  to  the 
protection  of  person  and  property,  which  do  not  rest  for 
their  authority  upon  the  direct  and  express  declaration  of 
the  will  of  the  legislature.     These  laws  depend  for  their 
validity  upon  long-continued  custom.     A  good  illustration 
may  be  found  in  the  widow's  right  of  dower  (130).     When 
we  speak  of  the  "common  law,"  we  refer  to  the  customs 
which  regulated  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life  in  all  parts  of 
England   before  the    Revolution,  and  to  which  our  fore- 
fathers were  accustomed  when  they  came  to  this  country. 
Local  customs  are  excluded. 

26 


PRINCIPLES    AND    DEFINITIONS 

25.  Statute  Law.  —  A  statute  is  a  law  enacted  by  the 
legislature.     Many  of  the  statutes  are  simply  formal  en- 
actments of  what  was  once  permitted  or  forbidden  by  the 
common  law.    This  is  particularly  true  of  the  criminal  code. 
Larceny  was  a  crime  at  the  common  law  before  it  was  made 
so  by  statute  ;  but  this  was  not  so  with  embezzlement.     On 
the  contrary,  to  import  goods  without  paying  the  duty  is 
a  statutory  crime,  and  was  not  a  crime  at  the  common  law. 

26.  The  Penalty.  —  All  laws  consist  of   two  parts,  —  a 
statement  of  the  thing  commanded   or   forbidden,  and  a 
penalty  for  the  disobedience.     A  law  without  a  penalty  is 
simply  a  recommendation,  which  no  one  would  obey  from 
any  fear  of  the  consequences.     This  penalty 'may  be  loss 
of  property,  or  of  liberty,  or  of  both,  or  even  of  life. 

All  punishment  has  for  its  aims  the  prevention  of  crime 
and  the  reformation  of  the  offender.  The  old  law  said  "  an 
eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth  " ;  but  this  is  not  the 
modern  spirit.  Individual  citizens  may  be  animated  by 
the  spirit  of  revenge ;  but  all  the  people  of  the  state,  in 
whose  name  the  penalty  is  inflicted,  cannot  possibly  enter- 
tain this  thought.  Experience  has  shown  that  the  certainty 
and  the  promptness  with  which  conviction  and  punishment 
follow  the  commission  of  crime  are  far  more  effective  for 
its  prevention  than  is  the  severity  of  the  penalty.  In  some 
of  the  states  even  murder  is  not  a  capital  offence.  Prison 
discipline  is  now  far  milder  than  formerly  ;  and  much  more 
humane  in  civilized  than  in  barbarous  countries.  Trade 
instruction,  chapel  exercises,  entertaining  exhibitions,  in- 
structive lectures,  and  the  shortening  the  term  of  imprison- 
ment for  good  behavior  are  among  the  agencies  employed 
for  reformation. 

27 


TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


27.  Administrative  and  Jural  Laws. — With  reference 
to  the  ends  they  seek  to  accomplish,  laws  may  be  classified 
as  administrative  and  jural.     The  former  are  such  as  relate 
to  the  duties  of  executive  officers,  to  the  methods  of  carry- 
ing on  the  government,  and  to  the  providing  for  the  com- 
mon defence.     As  to  these  objects,  the  state  may,  within 
certain  limits,  adopt  any  means  deemed  necessary  to  secure 
a  strong  and  efficient  administration  of  public  affairs. 

Jural  legislation  has  for  its  object  the  settling  of  those 
controversies  which  arise  between  individuals,  or  between 
the  state  and  individuals,  as  to  their  mutual  claims  and 
demands.  In  this  way  does  the  state  seek  "to  establish 
justice  and  insure  domestic  tranquillity."  To  accomplish 
these  purposes,  courts  of  justice  are  instituted,  and  their 
methods  of  procedure  are  prescribed.  To  prevent  contro- 
versies from  arising,  the  state  has  provided  business  rules 
for  men  to  follow ;  as,  for  example,  that  certain  contracts 
must  be  in  writing.  To  settle  controversies  after  they  have 
arisen,  certain  principles  have  been  recognized,  either  by 
the  legislature  or  by  the  courts  :  as  that  the  guardian  shall 
be  held  responsible  for  any  funds  that  may  come  into  his 
hands  belonging  to  his  ward. 

28.  Limiting   the   Powers  of   Government.  —  It  is  uni- 
versally recognized  that  no  form  of  government  is  tolerable 
which  has  not  the  strength  to  exercise  its  essential  func- 
tions (i  8).     Even  the  despotism  of  Russia  is  to  be  preferred 
to  the  lack  of  control  which  exists  in  the  republic  of  Hayti. 
No  government  can  command  the  respect  of  its  own  sub- 
jects, unless  it  is  able  to  administer  justice,  pay  its  obliga- 
tions, repress  domestic  disorder,  and  defend  its  citizens 
when  abroad.     That  the  public  authority  shall  have  suffi- 

28 


PRINCIPLES    AND    DEFINITIONS 

cient  resources  and  ample  power  to  accomplish  this,  all 
good  citizens  are  agreed.  But  when  it  comes  to  non- 
essential  functions,  there  is  a  wide  difference  in  opinions, 
which,  however,  are  capable  of  classification. 

1.  Strict-constructionists.  --  Those    who    advocate    the 
principle  of  non-interference  with  any  undertaking  that 
can  be  accomplished  by  private  enterprise,  may  be  called 
strict-constructionists.     Extremists  of  this  class  would  even 
deny  the  right  of  the  government  to  carry  the  mails.     In 
the  history  of  our  country,  the  strict-constructionists  have 
always  formed  a  powerful  party ;  and  although  they  have 
been  forced  to  abandon   one  position  after  another,  yet 
they  have  undoubtedly  done  great  good  by  preventing  the 
too  rapid  and  dangerous  centralization  of  power. 

2.  Loose-cons  true  tionists.  —  The  principle  of  the  loose- 
constructionists  is  that  the  government  should  exercise  its 
powers  "  to  promote  the  general  welfare  "  (403).    To  accom- 
plish this,  they  favor  a  protective  tariff  instead  of  free  trade, 
for  in  this  way,  they  say,  industries  will  be  started  which 
will  give  employment  to  labor.     It  is  in  accordance  with 
this  theory  that  public  land  has  been  given  (64)  to  build 
railroads ;  that  steamship  companies  have  been  subsidized ; 
and  that  bounties  have  been  voted  to  establish  sugar  fac- 
tories.    In  our  cities  also  we  have  municipal  ownership  of 
waterworks,  and  of  electric  light  plants.     Some  even  advo- 
cate state  ownership  of  the  telegraph  and  telephone  lines, 
of  the  railroads,  and  the  city  ownership  of  the  street  car 
lines,  on  the  ground  that  their  use  has  come  to  be  a  public 
necessity. 

3.  Socialists. — The  aim  of  socialism  is  to  improve  the 
lot  of  humanity,  which  it  proposes  to  accomplish  by  the  re- 

29 


TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


organization  of  society.  The  socialist  would  have  the  gov- 
ernment own  and  operate  all  the  factories,  the  farms,  the 
railroads,  and  the  ships,  fix  the  price  of  labor,  and  distribute 
to  every  man  according  to  his  work.  He  would  leave  to 
the  individual  only  that  form  of  property  which  does  not 
produce  anything.  "  His  war-cry  is  '  Free  land,  free  tools, 
free  money.' '  He  is  opposed  to  the  present  system  by 
which  one  man  lives  from  the  profits  of  another  man's 
labor;  and  says  that  when  this  is  rendered  impossible, 
every  man  will  have  enough,  and  that  the  evils  arising 
from  intemperance,  poverty,  and  crime  will  disappear. 

4.  Communists. —  Communism  is  a  special  kind  of  social- 
ism.    Every  communist  is  a  socialist ;  but  every  socialist 
is  not  a  communist,  for  the  latter  would  do  away  even 
with  private  property.     Share  and  share  alike,  every  man 
according  to  his  need,  and  not  in  proportion  to  his  work,  is 
the  principle  of  the  communist.     The  idea  is  a  very  old  one. 
Plato  in  his  "  Republic  "  advocated  it,  as  did  also  Sir  Thomas 
More  in  his  "  Utopia,"  and  the  early  Christians  practised 
it  (Acts,  ch.  iv.  35).     Perhaps  the  most  noted  organization 
of  the  kind  in  this  country  is  that  of  the  Shakers  in  New 
York.     The  teachings  of   the  communists  are,  as  a  rule, 
opposed  to  the  home,  and  are  destructive  of  it. 

5.  Anarchists.  —  A  communist  of  an  extreme  type  is  an 
anarchist.     But  the  one  recognizes  the  necessity  of  govern- 
mental control ;  while  the  other  is  opposed  to  any  form  of 
government,  and  would  destroy  it.     When  the  unnatural 
pressure  is  removed,  all  men,  says  the  anarchist,  will  in- 
stinctively form  themselves  into  self-governing  cooperative 
associations,  based  upon  liberty,  equality,  fraternity.     The 
communist  would  bring  about  his  reforms  by  agitation,  by 

3° 


PRINCIPLES   AND    DEFINITIONS 

education,  by  the  ballot.  He  is  an  evolutionist.  The 
anarchist  of  the  milder  type  would  also  adopt  peaceful 
means ;  but  the  extremist  would  attain  his  ends  by  fire, 
by  the  sword,  by  dynamite.  Killing,  burning,  —  all  means 
are  justifiable.  He  is  a  revolutionist. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1 .  Law  of  conduct. 

2.  Definition  of  Law. 

3.  Law  of  nature. 

4.  Law  of  property. 

5.  Physical  and  natural  sciences. 

6.  Definitions  of,  (a)  civil  government ;  (&)  political  economy. 

7.  Origin  of  government. 

8.  Different  forms  of  government. 

9.  The  three  departments, — legislative,  executive,  and  judicial. 

10.  Ruler  and  subject. 

11.  A  constitution. 

12.  Common  law. 

13.  Statute  law. 

14.  The  penalty;  purpose  of  punishment. 

15.  Administrative  laws;  jural  laws. 

1 6.  Limitations.     Theories  of :  — 

1 i )  Strict-constructionists. 

(2)  Loose-constructionists. 

(3)  Socialists. 

(4)  Communists. 

(5)  Anarchists. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Does  ignorance  of  a  law  justify  one  in  disobeying  it? 

2.  In  what  sense  is  it  true  that  all  men  are  created  equal  ? 

3.  What  government  is  both  an  aristocracy  and  a  limited  monarchy  ? 

31 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


4.  Give  two  forms  of  government  not  mentioned  in  the  text. 

5.  How  does  a  rule  differ  from  a  law  ? 

6.  Justify  a  law  offering  a  reward  for  the  destruction  of  English 
sparrows. 

7.  To  what  class  of  theorists  does  the  nihilist  belong  ? 

8.  What  probable  effect  does  lighting  the  streets  of  a  city  have 
upon  crime  ? 

9.  What  is  meant  by  "Judge  Lynch  "  ? 

10.  How  does  scientific  knowledge  differ  from  any  other  ? 


Ill 

THE  HOME   AND  ITS  GOVERNMENT 


"The  strength  of  a  nation,  especially  of  a  republican  nation,  is 
in  the  well-ordered  homes  of  the  people."  —  MRS.  SIGOURNEY. 


29.  Our  Home.  —  The  first  form  of   government   with 
which  we  come  in  contact  is  that  of  our  home.    Surrounded 
by  father  and   mother,   and  very  likely  by  brothers  and 
sisters,  we  have  never  thought  of  our  home  except  as  the 
place  which  contains  all  that  is  most  dear  to  us!    No  matter 
whether  it  consists  of  one  room,  or  is  a  palace,  it  is  the  one 
place  which  we  never   leave  willingly  for  any  length   of 
time,  and  to  which,  when  we  are  absent,  we  always  desire 
to  return. 

30.  The  Marriage  Relation.  —  The  marriage  relation  is 
formed  when  two  persons  of  opposite  sex  agree  to  assume 
the  duties  of  husband  and  wife.     The  law  usually  requires 
that  a  license  shall  be  procured  from  the  county  clerk,  and 
that  both  parties  shall  be  obliged  to  answer  satisfactorily 
certain  questions  asked  by  one  who  is  duly  authorized  to 
perform    the   ceremony.     This  officer  then   issues  to  the 
newly  married  couple  a  certificate,  signed  by  himself  and 
by  one  or  more  witnesses.     This  agreement  is  sometimes 
called  a  contract  (140),  but  differs  from  an  ordinary  con- 
tract in  that  neither  party  has  the  right  to  break  it,  even 

33 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


with  the  consent  of  the  other,  and  the  relation  can  be  dis- 
solved only  by  death,  or  by  the  action  of  a  court.  The 
dissolution  of  a  marriage  by  a  court  is  called  a  divorce. 

31.  The  Family.  —  The  family  is  a  little  society,  consist- 
ing of  those  united  by  the  ties  of  marriage  and  blood-rela- 
tionship, dwelling  under  one  roof  and  holding  property  in 
common  (37).     It  may  be  said  to  be  composed  of  three 
concentric    circles.     Within  the  inner  circle  are  included 
the  father,  the  mother,   and  the  children.      Between  the 
circumferences  of  the  inner  and  the  second  circles  are  to 
be  found  the  near  relatives  of  the  father  and  the  mother. 
The  remaining  space  is  occupied  by  the  guests  and  the 
servants.    Formerly  the  position  of  the  servants  in  the  fam- 
ily was  much  more  intimate  than  it  now  is,  and  the  relation 
continued  throughout  life. 

32.  Object  of  the  Family. — The  importance  of  protect- 
ing the  family  and  of  preserving  the  purity  of  its  life  can- 
not be  overestimated.     "No  nation,"  says  Holland,  "can 
be  destroyed  while  it  possesses  a  good  home  life."    A  little 
child  is  the  most  helpless  of  living  beings,  and  if  left  to 
itself  would  soon  perish ;  but,  under  the  fostering  care  of 
the  parents,  it  develops  into  the  strong,  self-reliant  man  or 
woman.     The  proper  nurture  of  the  child  in  the  family  is 
secured  both  through  the  love  of  the  parents  and  the  law 
of  the  land.     The  mental,  moral,  and  religious  training  of 
the  child  is  also  best  secured  through  the  family,  which  is 
"the  school  of  all  virtues." 

33.  Form  of  Government.  —  The  germ  of  civil  liberty  lies 
in  the  family.     As  the  family  is  a  little  society,  and  as  no 
society  can  exist  without  laws  to  regulate  the  conduct  of 
its  members,  it  follows  that  family  government  is  a  neces- 

34 


THE    HOME   AND    ITS    GOVERNMENT 

sity.  Since  the  children  in  early  life  must  depend  entirely 
upon  the  parents  for  support,  it  is  but  reasonable  that  the 
rules  which  are  to  regulate  their  conduct  should  be  framed 
by  the  parents.  As  the  father  and  the  mother  are  both 
equally  interested  in  the  end  toward  which  all  family 
discipline  is  directed,  ordinarily  there  will  be  no  conflict  in 
authority.  Should  differences  arise,  as  there  must  be 
some  ultimate  appeal,  the  supreme  authority  rests,  by 
common  consent,  by  the  nature  of  the  case,  and  by  the 
laws  of  the  land,  with  the  father.  The  form  of  the  govern- 
ment is,  therefore,  that  of  a  monarchy. 

34.  Parental  Duty.  —  The  duty  of  the  parent  is  to  sup- 
port the  child  during  the  helpless  years  of  its  minority. 
If  it  be  sick,  the  parent  must  supply  care  and  medical 
attendance.     The  child  is  not  only  to  be  fed,  clothed,  and 
governed,  but  also  to  be  suitably  educated.     The  nature  of 
this  support,  and  the  extent  of  the  education,  will  neces- 
sarily   depend    upon    the    circumstances    of    the    parent. 
Children  of  the  rich  and  poor  cannot   be   provided   for 
alike ;  but  the  one  will  have  better  food  and  clothing,  and 
better   educational    advantages    than    the    other.      Food, 
clothing,  and  education  are  rights  which  belong  to  the 
child ;  and  if  the  parents  do  not  furnish  them,  they  will  be 
liable  to  punishment  by  the  civil  authorities. 

35.  Parental  Authority. — Among  the  Romans,  the  father 
could  enforce  obedience,  not  only  by  the  milder  means  of 
correction,  but  could  even  take  the  life  of  his  child  if  he 
saw  fit.     Parental  authority  extended  also  to  any  property 
that  might  come  into  the  possession  of  the  child  during 
the  father's  lifetime.     With  us,  the  parent  may  inflict  mod- 
erate corporal  punishment,  but  his  authority  ceases  entirely 

35' 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


over  personal  property  when  the  child  becomes  of  age. 
Whatever  he  may  earn  before  his  majority  belongs  to  the 
father;  but  this  is  not  the  case  with  property  acquired 
from  any  other  source  (131).  The  master  may  bar  his 
doors  against  any  one,  and  ordinarily  even  a  sheriff  is  not 
permitted  to  search  a  house,  unless  he  can  produce  a  war- 
rant (189). 

36.  Obedience.  —  The  law  not  only  gives  the  parent  the 
right   to   govern  his  household,  but   makes  it    his   duty. 
Children   must   obey  their   parents,  and   no  reason  need 
be  given  for  the  command.      No  habit  is  more  valuable 
than  that  of  rendering  perfect  obedience  to  those  in  right- 
ful authority.      In  a  modified   degree   this  duty  to  obey 
extends  to  any  who  may  seek  the  protection  of  the  house- 
hold. 

37.  Resources  of  the  Family.  —  The  income  of  the  family 
will  be  derived  principally  from  the  labor  of  the  different 
members,  and  from  whatever  property  may  belong  to  it. 
We  have  seen  that  the  property  is  held  in  common  (31); 
but  this  only  means  that  the  income  arising  from  it  is 
expended  for  the  common  good.     The  legal  control  of  it 
is  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  parents  during  the  lifetime 
of  the  father,  who  at  his  death  may  dispose  of  all,  except 
the  portion  the  law  reserves  to  the  mother  (130),  as  he 
sees  fit.     He  may  disinherit  his  children  if  such  is  his 
desire.     If,  however,  no  will  be  made,  the  law  provides  that 
each  child  shall  have  a  share. 

38.  The  Homestead.  — When  a  family  owns  a  home,  the 
house  and  the  land  immediately  surrounding  it   is  called 
the  homestead.     This  may  consist  of  forty  acres  of  land, 
or  even  of  a  larger  amount ;  or  of  a  dwelling  house  and  a 


THE    HOME   AND    ITS    GOVERNMENT 

single  lot ;  or  of  a  lot,  if  the  purpose  be  to  build  a  house 
upon  it  with  the  intention  of  making  it  a  home ;  or  even 
of  money  in  the  bank,  if  it  came  from  the  sale  of  a  home- 
stead and  is  being  kept  to  purchase  another.  In  general 
the  husband  is  permitted  to  sell  any  personal  property 
which  he  may  have  himself  acquired  either  before  or  after 
marriage,  or  which  the  family  may  have  acquired  by  the 
labor  of  any  member,  without  the  consent  of  the  wife ; 
but  this  is  not  the  case  with  the  homestead,  and  in  some 
of  the  states  the  same  rule  applies  to  all  real  estate  (133). 

39.  Exemptions.  —  Besides  the  homestead,  which,  if  it 
be  below  a  certain  value,  is  always  exempt  from  sale  upon 
execution  (186),  there  are  also  certain  articles  of  personal 
property  (187)  which  cannot  be  taken  from  the  family 
by  the  officers  and  sold  for  the  payment  of  debts,  without 
the  consent  of  the  father  or  the  mother,  and  sometimes  of 
both.  Among  these  articles  may  be  enumerated  the  house- 
hold furniture,  the  clothing  one  wears,  and  the  tools  which 
are  necessary  to  enable  the  householder  to  carry  on  his 
business.  The  earnings  of  a  married  debtor  for  his  per- 
sonal services  are  generally  exempt,  either  absolutely  up 
to  a  certain  amount,  or,  as  in  Arizona,  for  the  amount 
earned  during  a  fixed  period  of  time  immediately  preceding 
the  commencement  of  suit,  if  they  are  necessary  for  the 
support  of  the  family.  It  is  by  means  of  the  homestead 
and  exemption  laws  that  society  protects  the  helpless 
members  of  the  family  from  the  distress  which  a  rapacious 
creditor  might  otherwise  bring  upon  them. 

So  far  has  this  principle  been  carried  that,  in  some  states, 
a  householder  may  be  worth  several  thousand  dollars  in 
property  not  liable  to  seizure. 

37 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Our  home. 

2.  The  marriage  relation  ;  divorce. 

3.  The  family. 

4.  Object  of  the  family  relation. 

5.  Form  of  government. 

6.  Parental  duty. 

7.  Parental  authority. 

8.  Obedience  of  children. 

9.  Resources  of  the  family. 

10.  The  homestead. 

1 1 .  Exemptions. 

QUESTIONS  AND   EXERCISES 

1.  How  old  must  a  boy  be  before  he  is  entitled  to  his  own  wages  ? 

2.  If  a  child  commits  a  wilful  injury  upon  another,  will  the  parent 
be  responsible  ? 

3.  Consult  the  statutes  of  your  state,  and  make  a  list  of  articles 
which  are  exempt  from  seizure  upon  execution. 

4.  How  may  the  name  of  a  person  living  in  this  state  be  legally 
changed  ? 

5.  Why  does  the  law  permit  a  man  to  give  his  property  to  strangers 
by  will,  if  he  sees  fit  ? 

6.  In  what  two  ways  may  a  person  become  a  member  of  a  family  ? 

7.  What  is  alimony  ? 

8.  In  what  two  ways  may  uniform  divorce  laws  be  secured  ? 

9.  Who  wrote  "  Home,  Sweet  Home  "  ? 

10.   Why  does  the  law  protect  the  homestead  ? 


IV 

THE   SCHOOL  AND   ITS   GOVERNMENT 


"  Religion,  morality,  and  knowledge  being  necessary  to  good  gov- 
ernment and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools  and  the  means  of 
education  shall  forever  be  encouraged." —  Ordinance  of  1787. 


40.  Education  a  Necessity. — The  term  "education,"  as 
here  used,  means  that  knowledge  and  discipline  derived 
from  the  study  of  the  so-called  common  branches,  and  are 
usually  obtained  in  the  elementary  schools.     This  much  at 
.least  is  necessary,  not  only  for  our  protection  in  business 

life,  but  also  to  enable  us  to  discharge  the  simplest  duties 
of  citizenship.  So  important  is  it  considered  in  this  country 
that  every  child  should  have  an  opportunity  to  acquire  a 
common  school  education  at  least,  that  all  concede  it  to 
be  the  duty  of  the  state  to  furnish  it.  Even  those  who 
entertain  the  strictest  views  as  to  the  functions  of  govern- 
ment (28)  do  not  deny  the  right  of  the  state  to  levy  a  tax 
for  the  support  of  the  public  schools.  Many  of  the  states 
have  enacted  laws  to  compel  children  between  certain  ages 
to  attend  school  for  a  certain  number  of  months  during 
each  year. 

41.  The  Tuition  School. — The   school,  it  must  be  re- 
membered, is  of  very  ancient  origin.     There  were  famous 
schools  and  learned  teachers  in  Egypt,  India,  Greece,  and 
Rome  long  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  we  have  records 

39 


TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


of  English  schools  antedating  the  reign  of  Edward  III. 
It  was  not,  however,  until  comparatively  recent  times  that 
the  free  school  was  established.  Before  that  the  teaching 
of  the  common  branches  was  intrusted  to  instructors  em- 
ployed and  paid  by  the  parents,  and  only  in  some  of  the 
great  universities  was  the  tuition  free.  Even  now  it  is 
only  among  the  more  progressive  nations  that  the  elemen- 
tary school  is  supported  wholly  by  the  state. 

42.  The  Public  School.  —  The  public  school  system  of 
this  country  had  its  origin  in  New  England.  In  1647  the 
General  Court  of  Massachusetts  declared  that,  "  In  order 
that  learning  may  not  be  buried  in  the  graves  of  our 
fathers  "  a  schoolmaster  shall  be  employed  in  every  town- 
ship of  fifty  householders  "  to  teach  all  such  children  as 
shall  resort  to  him  to  write  and  read."  This  law  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  free  common  school  system  of  the  United 
States.  It  was,  however,  left  for  the  town  meeting  to 
determine  in  what  manner  the  teacher's  wages  should  be 
paid.  The  church  school  was  supported  by  taxation,  and 
when  the  parents  of  a  sufficient  number  of  town  children 
did  not  wish  them  to  attend  the  church  school,  the  town 
authorities  could  maintain  one  for  them.  Still  it  was  not 
until  1827  that  in  Massachusetts  the  common  schools  were 
wholly  supported  by  the  state. 

In  1787  the  Continental  Congress  passed  an  ordinance 
for  the  government  of  the  territory  northwest  of  the 
Ohio  River  containing  this  clause,  "  Religion,  morality,  and 
knowledge  being  necessary  to  good  government  and  the 
happiness  of  mankind,  schools  and  the  means  of  education 
shall  forever  be  encouraged."  In  pursuance  of  this  pol- 
icy Congress  set  apart  the  sixteenth  section  of  the  public 

40 


THE   SCHOOL    AND    ITS    GOVERNMENT 

domain  (73)  for  the  support  of  schools.  Thus  was  the 
principle  of  state  aid  firmly  established  in  those  states 
formed  out  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  the  principle 
of  full  state  support  for  the  common  schools  has  not  only 
been  adopted  there,  but  in  every  state  in  the  Union. 

43.  Private  Schools.  —  Besides  the  public  schools  which 
every  taxpayer,  including  in    some   states  every  elector, 
must  help  support,  there  are  thousands  of  schools  main- 
tained by  church  organizations  and  by  private  individuals. 
Church  societies  maintain  denominational  schools  because 
they  desire  to  have  the  children  of  the  congregation  given 
both  religious  and  secular  instruction.     The  constitutions 
of  most  of  the  states  forbid  the  use  of  public  money  for 
the  support  of  any  sectarian  school,  and  also  provide  that 
no  church  doctrine  shall  be  taught  in  any  of  the  public 
schools.     Nearly  all  of  the  smaller  colleges  are  under  the 
control  of  some  church  society,  and.  the  service  which  they 
have  rendered  to  education  has  been  very  great. 

Besides  the  denominational  schools  there  are  many  oth- 
ers which  are  maintained  by  private  enterprise.  Under 
this  head  would  come  the  kindergartens,  so  numerous  in 
the  cities,  young  ladies'  seminaries,  manual  training 
schools,  business  colleges,  and  private  normals.  That 
there  is  a  place  for  these  in  our  educational  system  as  at 
present  administered  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  so  many 
of  them  exist  and  prosper. 

44.  Definition  of  a  School.  —  A  school  may  be  defined  as 
a  number  of  pupils  collected  in  one  body,  and  under  the 
charge  of  one  person,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  instruc- 
tion.    It  is  the  second  form  of  government  with  which  we 
become  acquainted.     The  one  who  imparts  this  instruction 


TRAINING   FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


and  exercises  this  control  is  called  the  teacher.  Such  a 
school  may  exist  independently,  or  it  may  be  one  of  the 
units  of  a  system.  The  term  may  also  properly  be  applied 
to  any  number  of  these  units  organized  under  one  head. 

45.  The  School  District.  —  The  school  district  is  the  area 
set  apart  for  the  support  and  government  of  the  school, 
whether  it  consists  of  a  single  unit  or  of  a  collection  of 
such  units  united  into  one  system.     In  cities,  and  in  those 
states  where  the  township  or  county  system  prevails,  the 
term  has  a  secondary  meaning,  and  refers  to  the  area 
within  which  the  pupils  must  attend  a  particular  school 
building.     According  to  the  first  sense  of  the  term,  school 
districts  vary  in  size  from  a  few  sections  of  land  to  a  whole 
county.     In  the  second  sense  there  is  less  variation.     In 
Michigan  the  country  districts  may  not  exceed  nine  sec- 
tions, and  are  generally  much  less.     The  school  officers 
always  endeavor  to  locate  a  schoolhouse  within  two  miles 
of  each  child's  home ;  and  in  some  of  the  older  states,  if 
the  distance  be  greater,  a  method  of  conveying  the  pupils 
to  and  from  school  is  provided. 

46.  The  School   Board.  —  The  governing   body   of  the 
school   district,   or   corporation,   is   the    school   board,   or 
school  committee,  as  it  is  sometimes  called.     It  usually 
consists  of  three  or  more  members  called  trustees,  super- 
visors, or  directors,  who  are  elected  at  an  annual  meeting, 
and  hold  their  offices  for  one  or  more  years.     This  board 
transacts  all  the  business  of  the  corporation,  employs  the 
teacher,  formulates  rules  for  the  conduct  of  the  school, 
and  performs  such  other  duties  as  are  required  or  per- 
mitted by  the  law  creating  it. 

47.  The  School  Trustee.  —  There  is  a  distinction  to  be 

42 


THE    SCHOOL   AND    ITS    GOVERNMENT 

drawn  between  the  power  of  the  board  as  a  whole  and  that 
of  a  single  trustee,  who  is  simply  a  member  of  the  board. 
The  board  can  act  only  by  passing  a  resolution  at  a  meet- 
ing where  a  majority  are  present;  and  a  trustee  can  do 
nothing  unless  he  is  authorized  by  such  a  resolution,  or  by 
the  school  laws  of  the  state.  A  trustee  may  very  properly 
call  the  attention  of  the  teacher  to  defects  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  school,  and  this  it  is  his  duty  to  do ;  but  he 
should  not  himself  attempt  to  discipline  or  instruct.  In 
most  states  women  as  well  as  men  can  hold  the  office  of 
trustee.  Sometimes  the  members  of  the  board  receive 
pay  for  their  services,  but  the  amount  is  never  large.  For 
neglect  of  duty  a  trustee  can  be  removed  by  the  proper 
authorities. 

48.  Authority  of  the  Teacher.  —  Like  that  of  the  family, 
the  form  of  the  school  government  is  monarchical ;  but  in 
the  exercise  of  his  authority  the  teacher  is  restrained  by 
customs  and  regulations  which  he  must  be  careful  to  obey. 
From  the  decision  of  the  parent  there  is  no  appeal ;  but 
from  that  of  the  teacher  there  is. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  the  schools  were  conducted  wholly 
by  the  teacher.  The  pupils  were  intrusted  to  them  by 
the  parents,  who  delegated  their  authority,  and  hence  the 
teacher  was  said  to  stand  in  loco  parentis.  In  the  char- 
tered schools  of  England,  even  to  this  day,  the  pupil  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  master,  or  teacher,  whose  authority  is  as 
unlimited  as  is  that  of  the  parent ;  but  in  this  country  it 
is  not  so  extensive.  Our  courts  will  generally  sustain  a 
teacher  even  in  inflicting  corporal  punishment;  but  they 
will  look  carefully  into  the  circumstances  of  each  case,  and 
insist  that  the  punishment  be  reasonable. 

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TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


49.  School  Regulations.  —  The  acquiring  of  learning  is 
not  the  only  object  of  our  public  schools.     To  become 
good  citizens,  children  must  be  taught  self-restraint  and 
obedience.     They  must  submit  to  such  reasonable  require- 
ments as  to  be  quiet  in  deportment,  studious  in  their  habits, 
and  regular  and  prompt  in  their  attendance.     A  failure  to 
observe  any  one  of  these  conditions  would  not  be  exercis- 
ing their  own  rights  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  interfere  with 
the  rights  of  others  (13). 

50.  Examination  of  Teachers.  —  One  of  the  most  impor- 
tant  duties  which    rests  upon  the  school  officers  is  the 
selection  of  teachers.     A  knowledge  of  the  subject  to  be 
taught  is  a  necessity,  and  to  find  out  whether  a  candidate 
for  a  position  in  the  public  schools  possesses  it,  every  state 
provides  by  law  for  an  examination.     Sometimes  the  duty 
of  holding  this  is  intrusted  to  the  district  board,  sometimes 
to  township  officers,  but  more  frequently  to  county  officers 
(277).     A  higher  grade  of  certificate  is  also  issued  by  a 
state    board    of    education,    of   which   the   state   superin- 
tendent of   public  instruction  (329)  is  usually  a  member 
ex  officio.     In    addition,    the    diplomas   granted   by   state 
normal  schools,  and  in  some  states  certain  ones  granted  by 
the  state  university,  are  legal  certificates.     Those  issued 
by  the  township  or  county  authorities  are  generally  for 
one,  two,  or  three  years ;  but  all  others  are  for  life,  and 
entitle  the  owner  to  teach  anywhere  in  the   state.      In 
California  the  state  board  of  education  has  made  up  a  list 
of  colleges  and  universities,  called  "accredited  schools," 
whose  diplomas  entitle  the  holder  to  teach  without  passing 
an  examination. 

51.  Resources.  —  Formerly  the  fees  paid  by  the  pupils 

44 


THE   SCHOOL    AND    ITS    GOVERNMENT 

were  the  chief  reliance  of  the  teacher,  but  this  is  now  true 
only  in  the  case  of  private  schools.  The  public  schools 
derive  their  support  principally  from  four  sources :  taxa- 
tion, the  primary  school  money,  the  poll  tax,  and  the 
tuition  of  non-resident  pupils.  All  the  states  do  not  levy 
a  poll  tax  for  this  purpose.  As  a  rule,  by  far  the  greater 
part  is  obtained  from  direct  taxation ;  and  the  school  tax 
often  forms  the  largest  item  in  the  annual  contribution 
which  every  property  owner  is  called  upon  to  make  for 
the  support  of  the  government. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Quotation  from  the  ordinance  of  1887. 

2.  A  common  school  education  a  necessity. 

3.  The  tuition  school. 

4.  Public  schools  in  America. 

5.  Private  schools. 

6.  Definition  of  a  school. 

7.  The  school  district. 

8.  The  school  board. 

9.  The  school  trustee. 

10.  Authority  of  the  teacher. 

11.  School  regulations. 

12.  Examination  of  teachers. 

13.  Resources. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  How  can  the  home  and  the  school  be  helpful  in  the  development 
of  good  citizenship  ? 

2.  What  is  the  penalty  in  this  state  for  employing  an  unlicensed 
teacher? 

3.  Has  this  state  a  compulsory  school  law  ? 

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TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


4.  Justify  the  right  of  the  state  to  levy  a  tax  for  the  support  of  high 
schools. 

5.  Draw  a  map  of  your  school  district. 

6.  Should  a  school  officer  serve  without  pay  ? 

7.  Write  five  rules  which  the  pupils  should  obey ;  five  that  a  teacher 
should  observe. 

8.  What  does  it  cost  per  capita  to  send  a  pupil  to  this  school  for  one 
year? 

9.  What  educational  institutions  does  a  national  government  sup- 
port? 

10.  What  is  the  rate  of  taxation  for  school  purposes  in  this  district  ? 


V 

FROM  INFANCY  TO  MANHOOD 


"  There  are  gains  for  all  our  losses, 

There  are  balms  for  all  our  pain ; 
But  when  youth,  the  dream,  departs, 
It  takes  something  from  our  hearts, 
And  it  never  comes  again.1' —  R.  H.  STODDARD. 


52.  Infancy.  —  The  Roman  law  divided  the  first  twenty- 
five  years  of  a  person's  life  into  infancy,  childhood,  and 
youth.     Infancy  comprised    the  first    seven   years,  child- 
hood extended  from  the  close  of  the  seventh  to  the  end 
of  the  fourteenth  year,  and  youth  from  this  period  until 
the  age  of  twenty-five.     Our  laws  do  not  adhere  quite  so 
strictly  to  these  divisions,  but,  in  a  general  way,  they  are 
still  observed.    With  us  a  person  is  an  infant  in  the  eyes  of 
the  law  until  he  is  twenty-one  years  old.     In  some  states 
women  are  of  age  at  eighteen. 

The  word  "  infant  "  signifies  one  who  cannot  talk.  Of 
course  this  means  one  who  cannot  talk  understandingly. 
At  the  common  law  (24)  a  child  under  seven  years  could 
not  be  convicted  of  crime,  for  the  reason  that  one  so  young 
does  not  have  sufficient  understanding  to  be  capable  of 
committing  a  criminal  act. 

53.  Childhood.  —  Between  the  ages  of  seven  and  four- 

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TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


teen  the  law  presumes  a  child  incapable  of  committing 
crime;  but  this  presumption  of  innocence  may  be  over- 
come by  evidence.  The  question  is,  whether  there  was 
guilty  knowledge  of  wrong-doing.  The  evidence  of  crim- 
inal capacity  would  have  to  be  very  strong  during  the 
early  years  of  childhood  ;  but  this  strength  would  gradu- 
ally diminish.  During  these  periods  it  is  not  proper  that 
children  should  be  subjected  either  to  a  severe  mental  or 
physical  strain.  It  is  the  duty  of  teachers  to  prevent  as 
far  as  possible  the  former  by  frequent  change  of  studies, 
by  giving  frequent  periods  for  relaxation,  and  by  so 
arranging  the  work  that  the  children  may  be  able  to 
prepare  their  lessons  during  school  hours.  The  state 
endeavors  to  protect  them  from  physical  harm  by  for- 
bidding their  employment  in  factories,  and  by  appoint- 
ing inspectors  whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that  the  laws  are 
enforced. 

54.  Youth.  —  After  we  have  passed  the  age  of  fourteen 
we  can  no  longer  excuse  our  own  misconduct  by  pleading 
ignorance  of   the    rights  of   others.     As  our   knowledge 
increases  so  does  our  responsibility,  and  as  to  all  criminal 
charges   the  youth    is    treated   as  an   adult.     When   this 
period  has  arrived  the  common  school  course  of   study 
should  have  been  completed.     The  circumstances  of  his 
parents  may  be  such  as  to  require  his  services  for  the 
remainder  of  his  minority,  and,  if  so,  they  are  entitled  to 
them.     But  if  practicable,  he  should  take  a  higher  course 
of  study,  the  nature  of  which  will  be  determined  partly  by 
his  tastes  and  partly  by  his  situation  in  life. 

55.  Associates.  —  The  child  is  an  imitator.    He  observes 
the  manners  of  his  associates  and  copies  after  them.     If 

48 


FROM    INFANCY   TO    MANHOOD 

his  playmates  are  gentle,  well-behaved  boys  and  girls,  he 
will  become  a  cultured,  lovable  child.  If  his  father,  his 
mother,  and  the  neighbors  are  law-abiding  citizens,  he  will 
become  a  good  citizen  unconsciously.  If  the  surround- 
ings have  a  demoralizing  tendency,  it  is  the  duty  of  a  good 
citizen  to  attempt  to  improve  them.  The  state  seeks  to  do 
this  by  prohibiting  the  location  of  saloons  within  a  certain 
number  of*  blocks  of  a  schoolhouse,  and  in  some  places 
none  are  allowed  anywhere.  The  child,  however,  does 
not  learn  by  imitation  alone ;  but  must  be  instructed  as 
to  his  duties  to  others,  and  as  to  what  he  has  a  right  to 
expect  from  others,  for  rights  and  duties  are  always  recip- 
rocal. 

56.  Civil  Officers.  —  As  we   advance   from   infancy  to 
manhood,  we  gradually  become  conscious  that  our  parents 
and  teachers  are  not  the  only  ones  to  whom  we  owe  obe- 
dience.    We  learn  from  observation  that  even  men  and 
women   cannot   at   all   times  do  as   they  like  with   their 
property,  but  that  they  must  often  yield  to  the  wishes  of 
others.     The  owner  of  a  rented  house,  for  example,  must 
give  his  tenant  an  opportunity  to  procure  another  before 
the  law  will  put  him  in  possession  of  it.     Those  persons 
who  are  designated  by  law  to  enforce  the  regulations  which 
society  has  established  between  individuals,  and  between 
the  state  and  an  individual  (5),  are  called  civil  officers. 

57.  Other  Officials.  —  Besides  the  civil  officers,  whom  we 
are  all  compelled  to  obey,  there  are  certain  others  who  rule 
us  because  we  choose  to  let  them.      Such  are  the  pastor 
and  trustees  of  a  church,  the  officers  of  a  lodge  or  of  a 
literary  society.     In  any  of  these  cases  we  may  withdraw 
from  the  organization,  and  thus  terminate  the  relation  of 

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TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


ruler  and  subject.  But  so  long  as  we  remain  members,  we 
must  yield  to  reasonable  requirements,  or  the  civil  authori- 
ties will  interfere. 

58.  Legal  Liability  of  a  Minor.  —  The  contracts  of  a 
minor  cannot  be  enforced  against  him  if  he  denies  his  lia- 
bility by  reason  of  his  non-age.     To  this  rule  there  is  one 
exception,  as  his  contract  for  necessaries  is  good.     This  is 
but  reasonable,  for  he  might  suffer  severely  if  he  could  not 
pledge  his  credit  for  food,  clothing,  medical  attendance, 
and  even  education.     The  term  "necessaries"  must  not  be 
taken  in  its  strict  sense  ;  but  must  be  considered  with  refer- 
ence to  the  minor's  situation  in  life.     For  example,  a  com- 
mon school  education  is  always  considered  as  necessary ; 
but  a  collegiate  course  may  or  may  not  be.     The  law  per- 
mits a  minor  to  engage  in  business,  but  discourages  it  by 
rendering  it  difficult.     His  commercial  contracts  are  always 
voidable,  and  the  trader  who  sells  him  goods  does  so  at  his 
peril.     The  minor  may  not  even  bring  a  suit  in  his  own 
name,  but  must  do  so  by  his  next  friend. 

59.  The  Law  a  Shield.  —  If  one  who  has  attained  his 
majority  wishes  to  transact  business  with  a  minor,  he  may 
do  so,  but  it  is  dangerous.      He  must  perform  his  part  of 
the  contract,  if  the  minor  shall  insist  upon  it,  while  the  lat- 
ter is  entirely  free  from  legal  responsibility.     A  minor  may 
act  as  an  agent  or  servant,  and  the  courts  will  enforce  any 
contract  for  employment,  although  the  wages  must  be  paid 
to  the  parent  if  he  insists.      The  parent,   however,  may 
emancipate  his  child,  and  the  latter  can  then  collect  his 
own  wages.     This  is  commonly  called  "giving  a  minor  his 
time."     But  all  these  laws  are  intended  for  a  shield,  and 
not  as  a  sword.      Hence,  as  in  the  case  of  crime,  so  for  any 

5° 


FROM    INFANCY   TO    MANHOOD 

injury  done  maliciously  to  the  property  of  another,  the 
minor  is  alone  responsible.  But  if  it  can  be  shown  that  the 
parent  was  negligent  in  not  exercising  the  proper  control 
over  his  child,  then  he  must  pay  the  damages. 

60.  Self-control.  —  Among  the  duties  which  we  owe  to 
ourselves  and  to  others  is  that  of  self-control.     When  we 
know  it  is  wrong  to  commit  a  certain  act,  we  should  refrain 
from  it,  not  because  we  are  in  fear  of  punishment,  but 
because  we  wish  to  do  right.      Every  one  owes  it  to  him- 
self to  control  his  own  temper.      There  is  no  nobler  con- 
quest for  any  man  to  make  than  the  conquest  of  himself. 
No  one  can,  for  any  length  of  time,  command  the  respect 
of  others  who  lacks  the  mastery  of  himself. 

61.  Personal  Habits.  —  Nothing,  perhaps,  is  more  potent 
for  good  or  ill  than  the  habits   we  form  in  our  youth. 
Many  a  bright  future  has  been  clouded,  many  a  life  ren- 
dered unhappy,  because  of  ways  of  thinking  or  of  acting 
which  were  detrimental  or  distasteful  to  others.     We  should 
be  very  careful  to  avoid  such  habits,  and  if  we  have  acquired 
any,  we  should,  by  the  proper  exercise  of  self-control,  cor- 
rect them  at  once.      At  the  head  of  good  mental  habits 
stands  honesty.     By  this  is  meant,  not  simply  the  disposi- 
tion to  pay  our  debts,  although  this  is  included ;  but,  in  a 
wider  sense,  it  is  that  quality  which  enables  us  to  form  a 
true  estimate  of  our  own  worth.     This  is  the  strongest  pos- 
sible safeguard  against  self-deception  and  the  flattery  of 
others.     We  should  also  cultivate  neatness  in  our  personal 
appearance,  politeness  in  our  demeanor,  and  correctness  in 
our  use  of  language.     We  should  avoid  the  use  of  slang, 
and  be  considerate  of  the  opinions  and  feelings  of  our  asso- 
ciates.    Purity  of  thought  will  lead  to  a  pure  life,  and  this 

51 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


in   turn    to    self-respect,  which    alone   can  command  the 
approval  of  our  fellow-men. 

"  Self-reverence,  self-knowledge,  self-control, 
These  three  alone  lead  life  to  sovereign  power." 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Infancy. 

2.  Childhood. 

3.  Youth  and  its  responsibilities. 

4.  The  influence  of  associates. 

5.  Civil  officers. 

6.  Other  officials. 

7.  Legal  liability  of  a  minor. 

8.  The  law  a  shield,  and  not  a  sword. 

9.  Self-control. 

10.   Honesty  the  most  important  of  mental  habits. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 
» 

1.  Why  is  a  knowledge  of  the  Roman  law  important? 

2.  What  acts  in  a  child  of  ten  would  show  a  capacity  to  steal? 

3.  Self-control  brings  self-respect.    Why? 

4.  Why  do  we  always  respect  one  who  never  speaks  ill  of  another? 

5.  How  may  one  break  up  a  bad  habit? 

6.  Water  will  not  rise  higher  than  its  source.    Apply  this  to  the 
character  of  governments. 

7.  With  what  relations  does  the  civil  code  deal? 

8.  Is  it  safe  to  deed  land  to  a  minor  ? 

9.  Make  a  list  of  habits  which  will  interfere  with  one's  success. 


Part   II 

The   Township   and   its   Government 


CHAPTER  VI.  The  Congressional  Township 

CHAPTER  VII.  The  Civil  Township 

CHAPTER  VIII.  The  Civil  Township — Executive  Department 

CHAPTER  IX.  The  Civil  Township — Legislative  Department 

CHAPTER  X.  The  Choice  of  Township  Officers 

CHAPTER  XL  The  Right  of  Private  Property 

CHAPTER  XII.  Real  Property 

CHAPTER  XIII.  Personal  Property 

CHAPTER  XIV.  Business  Enterprises 

CHAPTER  XV.  Protection  of  Person  and  Property 

CHAPTER  XVI.  The  Township  Court  —  Civil  Side 

CHAPTER  XVII.  The  Township  Court  —  Criminal  Side 

CHAPTER  XVIII.  A  Civil  Case  in  a  Justice's  Court 


VI 

THE   CONGRESSIONAL  TOWNSHIP 


"  The  United  States  has  always  been  able  to  offer  to  the  settler  an 
unlimited  quantity  of  rich  and  uncultivated  soil,  on  which  he  might 
locate,  and  take  such  a  part  as  the  law  allowed,  at  a  cost  which  made 
it  a  gift  rather  than  a  purchase.  This  has  made  us  a  nation  of  land- 
owners—  a  nation  in  which  a  marked  distinction  of  classes  is  im- 
possible, one  man  being  as  good  as  another,  and  all  possessing 
equal  rights."  —  Adapted  from  Letter's  Cyclopedia. 


62.  Historical.  —  At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  six  of  the  thirteen  colonies  —  Massachusetts,  Connecti- 
cut, Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia 
—  claimed  that  their  "  from  sea  to  sea  charters  "  gave  them 
the  lands   between   the   mountains    and   the    Mississippi. 
New  York  also  had  bought  the  title  to  land  in  the  Ohio 
valley.     The  remaining  colonies  had  no  claim  to  Western 
lands.     Prior  to  1781  but  six  of  the  original  states  —  New 
Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
land, and  Delaware  —  had  exactly  denned  boundaries. 

63.  Cessions   to   Congress.  —  Previous   to    1784   Massa- 
chusetts, New  York,  and  Virginia  had  ceded  their  lands 
to  Congress,  which  thus  came  into  possession  of  all  the 
country  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Ohio,  and  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi  to    Pennsylvania,    except   the   Western    Reserve, 
the  jurisdiction  to  which  was  soon  after  acquired.     This 

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formed  the  Northwest  Territory,  from  which  slavery  was 
excluded.  Subsequently  North  Carolina  and  South  Caro- 
lina ceded  their  lands  upon  condition  that  it  should  be 
slave  soil.  Finally,  in  1802,  Georgia  ceded  her  Western 
lands,  which  were  added  to  the  Western  Territory. 

64.  Disposal  of  the  Public  Lands.  —  By  these  cessions 
of  the  original  states,  and  the  subsequent  additions  by  pur- 
chase and  annexation,  the  United   States  has  come  into 
possession  of  a  vast  public  domain,  which  has  been  of  the 
greatest  service  in  the  development  of  the  nation.     It  has 
ever  been  the  policy  of  the  national  government  so  to  dis- 
pose of  the  public  lands  as  to  encourage  its  ownership  in 
small  quantities  by  those  who  would  actually  cultivate  it ; 
to  bestow  it  upon  the  states  with  the  understanding  that 
the  proceeds  should  be  held  as  a  trust  fund,  the  interest  to 
be  used  for  educational  purposes ;  or  to  grant  it  in  aid  of 
the  construction  of  railroads  which,  by  providing  an  easy 
means  of  communication,  would  open  the  country  for  settle- 
ment.    This  policy,  uniformly  followed  since  the  founda- 
tion of  the  government,  has  made  us  a  nation  of  small 
land-owners ;  has  furnished  profitable  employment  for  the 
industrious,  and  an  abundance  of  cheap  food  for  ourselves 
and  to  spare;  and  has  rendered  easy  the  spread  of  the 
free  school  system,  besides  being  instrumental  in  establish- 
ing more  than  forty  agricultural  colleges  in  the  different 
states  and  territories  of  the  Union. 

65.  Government   Survey.  —  As  soon   as   Congress  had 
come  into  possession  of  the  public  lands,  immediate  steps 
were  taken  to  open  them  for  settlement.     In  the  original 
thirteen  states  no  regular  system  of  survey  had  been  fol- 
lowed; but  now  the  public  domain  was,  by  act  of  Congress, 

56 


THE    CONGRESSIONAL   TOWNSHIP 

divided  into  tracts  six  miles  square,  called  townships,  and 
each  of  these  again  into  thirty-six  smaller  tracts,  called 
sections,  and  each  containing  640  acres  as  near  as  may  be. 
The  townships  are  named  from  their  number  in  the  range, 
as  Town  14  North  of  Range  3  East.  A  "range"  is  a 
tier,  or  row,  of  townships  lying  between  meridian  lines. 

66.  The   Congressional  Township.  —  The  congressional 
township  is  simply  a  tract  of  land  six  miles  square,  accord- 
ing to  government  survey.     Its  purpose  is  to  form  a  con- 
venient method  of  describing   land.     Its  boundaries  and 
divisions,  as  fixed  by  the  government,  cannot  be  altered 
by  any  state  legislature.     It  has  no  political  powers  what- 
ever.    In  all  the  states  formed  out  of  the  public  domain 
the  civil  townships,  as  a  rule,  correspond  exactly  in  size 
and  in  boundaries  with  the  congressional  townships;  but 
this  is  not  always  the  case. 

67.  Prime   Meridian   and  Base   Line.  —  The  surveyors 
first  establish  a  prime  meridian  running  due  north  and 
south,  and  a  base  line  running  due  east  and  west.     This 
is  done  astronomically.     These  two  lines  form  the  bases 
of  all  subsequent  subdivisions  into  townships,  sections,  and 
half-sections.    The  half-mile,  mile,  and  six-mile  corners  are 
permanently  marked  on  these  lines. 

68.  The  Townships.  —  From  the  six-mile  corners  other 
meridians  are  established,  and  the  half-mile,  mile,  and  six- 
mile  corners  permanently  marked.     The  six-mile  corners 
on  this  meridian  are  connected  with  the  six-mile  corners 
on  the  prime  meridian   line,  and  the  half-mile  and  mile 
corners    permanently    marked.       Owing    to    the    conver- 
gence of  meridians,  this  last  line  is  less  than  six  miles 
in  length. 

57 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


69.  Convergence  of  Meridians.  —  If  the  earth  were  per- 
fectly flat,  all  measurements  east  and  west  could  be  taken 
from  the  prime  meridian,  and  the  townships  would  all  be 
of  the  same  size.     Owing,  however,  to  the  spherical  form 
of   the  earth,   the    meridians    constantly   converge    as  we 
approach  the  north,  and  diverge  as  we  go  south  until  we 
reach  the  equator.     If,  now,  no  new  north  and  south  lines 
were  established,  the  townships  would  constantly  diminish 
in  size,  until  they  would  disappear.     To  avoid  this  a  guide 
meridian  is  established,  and  by  its  use  the  error  is  cor- 
rected.    All  surveys  are  made  toward  the  north. 

70.  Correction   Lines.  —  In    consequence,    also,    of   this 
convergence,  if  corrections  were  not  made  frequently,  the 
size  of  the  townships  would  decrease  toward  the  north 
until  between  those  widely  separated  the  difference  would 
be  very  great.     To   avoid   this,   every  twenty-four  miles 
north,  .and   every   thirty    miles    south   of   the   base   line, 
parallels   are   drawn,    which    are   called   correction    lines. 
By  means  of  the  guide  meridians  and  correction  lines  the 
congressional  townships  are  kept  uniform  in  size. 

71.  Sections.  —  If  now  we  connect   the   opposite   mile 
corners,  each  township  will  be  divided  into  thirty-six  parts, 
called   sections.       If   we    connect   the   opposite   half-mile 
corners,  we  shall  divide  each  section  into  quarters.     The 
out-boundaries  of  the  sections  are  required  to  be  surveyed ; 
but  the  minor  divisions  are  designated  by  imaginary  lines. 
The  sections  are  numbered  from  i  to  36,  beginning  with 
the  upper  right-hand  corner.     Each  section  is  supposed, 
by  law,  to  contain  640  acres  ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  they 
are  not  all  of  the  same  size.     All  excesses  or  deficiencies, 
owing  to  convergence  of  meridians  or  error  in  chaining, 

58 


THE    CONGRESSIONAL   TOWNSHIP 

are  thrown  into  the  north  and  west  tiers  of  sections  and 
half-sections. 

72.  Descriptions.  —  The  location   of   even  a  part  of   a 
section  in  the  government  survey  is  very  simple.     You 
have  only  to  locate  your  purchase  on  a  survey  map,  and, 
as  some  boundary  marks  are  always  placed  at  the  intersec- 
tion of  the  divisional  lines,  your  lot  can  readily  be  found. 
In  the  original  thirteen  states  the  descriptions  are  not  so 
easily  traced,  for  the  boundaries  are  often  obscure,  the 
deed  calling   for  "  an    oak   tree "   or   "  a   certain  pile  of 
stones/'  as  a  starting-point  in  the  survey.     As  the  public 
roads  in  the  new  states  are,  for  the  most  part,  laid  out  on 
sectional  lines,  it  is  not  at  all  difficult  to  find  your  way 
through  the  country. 

73.  Acquiring   Lands.  —  Title   to    lands  owned   by  the 
United  States  is  acquired  by  gift  and  by  sale.     Never  in 
the  history  of  the  world  has  any  government  given  away, 
or  sold  at  a  very  low  price,  such  vast  quantities  of  land  as 
has  ours.     For  educational  purposes  the  states  have  re- 
ceived  100  millions  of    acres;    and  for  internal  improve- 
ments, 162  millions.     Railroad  corporations  have  received- 
over  150  millions,  and  other  millions  have  been  given  to 
our  soldiers  and  sailors,  on  their  honorable  discharge,  for 
their  services  to  the  government.     Private  individuals  not 
soldiers  or  sailors  have  obtained  government  lands  under 
three  separate  acts  of  Congress :  — 

i .  Under  the  Homestead  Laws.  —  Any  citizen  over 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  who  is  not  the  proprietor 
of  1 60  acres  of  land  in  any  state  or  territory,  has  the  right 
to  locate  upon  160  acres  of  the  unsold  land  of  the  United 
States.  He  must  enter  the  land  in  the  proper  land  office, 

59 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


and  live  upon  it  continuously  for  five  years.  All  he  has  to 
pay  is  the  charge  of  the  land  office,  which  is  very  reason- 
able. "  The  homestead  act  stands  as  the  concentrated 
wisdom  of  legislation  for  the  settlement  of  the  public 
land." 

2.  Under    the    Preemption    Laws.  —  Any   ciazen    over 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  who  does  not  already  own  320 
acres  of  land  in  any  state  or  territory,  may  settle  upon  not 
to  exceed  160  acres  of  the  unoccupied  land  belonging  to 
the  United  States.     He  must  build  a  house  upon  the  land, 
live  upon  and  improve  it  for  one  year.     Upon  making  the 
proper  proofs,  he  may  then  purchase  the  land  at  $2.50  per 
acre  if  within  the  limits  granted  to  railroads,  and  at  $1.25 
per  acre  if  outside  such  grants. 

3.  Under  the   Timber  Culture  Act.  —  This  act  gives  to 
any  one  the  right  to  160  acres  of  the  $1.25  land  if  he  will 
plant  10  acres  of  timber,  or  80  acres  of  the  $2.50  land  if  he 
will  plant  5  acres  of  timber. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Effect  of  cheap  lands  upon  our  national  character. 

2.  Land  claims  of  the  thirteen  colonies. 

3.  Cessions  to  Congress. 

4.  Land  policy  of  the  United  States. 

5.  The  government  survey. 

6.  The  congressional  township. 

7.  Standard  parallel  meridians. 

8.  Townshiping  and  subdividing. 

9.  Convergence  of  meridians. 
10.  Correction  lines. 

IT.   Sections. 
12.    Descriptions  of  lands. 
60 


THE    CONGRESSIONAL    TOWNSHIP 

13.    Title  to  land  owned  by  the  United  States  acquired  :  — 

(1)  Under  the  homestead  laws. 

(2)  Under  the  preemption  laws. 

(3)  Under  the  timber  culture  act. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Make  a  diagram  showing  the  N.  W.  \  of  the  N.  W.  \  of  section  i. 

2.  Divide  the  S.  W.  \  of  the  S.  W.  \  of  section  i  into  lo-acre  strips 
and  describe  one  of  them. 

3.  Would  you  prefer  to  have  the  N.  W.  \  of  the  N.  W.  \  of  section  6, 
or  the  N.  E.  \  of  the  N.  E.  \  of  section  i?    Why? 

4.  A  road  is  laid  out  north  and  south  through  the  county  between  the 
first  and  second  tiers  of  sections.    Is  it  a  straight  line? 

5.  Is  there  a  government  land  office  in  this  state? 

6.  Copy  a  description  of  land  from  a  deed,  and  locate  the  property. 

7.  In  what  congressional  township  do  you  live? 

8.  Was  it  good  policy  for  the  government  to  give  so  much  land  to  the 
railroads? 

9.  Of  what  benefit  have  the  agricultural  colleges  been  to  the  country? 
10.  In  what  state  is  the  Western  Reserve  located? 


VII 

THE  CIVIL  TOWNSHIP 


"  The  townships  in  New  England  are  the  vital  principle  of  their 
government,  and  have  proved  themselves  the  wisest  invention  ever 
devised  by  the  wit  of  man  for  the  perfect  exercise  of  self-government 
and  for  its  preservation."  —  THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 


74.  Historical.  —  The  civil  township  had  its  origin  among 
the  ancient  Germans.     Originally  the  inhabitants  of  a  par- 
ticular district,  or  Mark,  were  united  by  blood-relationship, 
held  property  in  common  (37),  governed  themselves  by 
primary  assembly  of  all  the  free  inhabitants,   and   thus 
formed  a  semi-independent  community.     The  Saxon  con- 
querors of  England  carried  their  idea  of  self-government 
from  their  homes  upon  the  banks  of  the  Elbe  and  Weser, 
and  the  Mark  of  Germany  became  the  township  of  the 
English  political  system. 

75.  The  New  England  Town. — The  settlers   of   New 
England   transferred   the   English   township  to  America, 
and  each  settlement  was  organized  after  that  model.     At 
its  centre  was  a  group  of  dwellings,  often  surrounded  by  a 
fence  or  wall ;  but  there  was  also  included  a  rural  area  of 
several  square  miles.     The  town  covered  the  whole  of  this 
area,  which  was  never  too  large  for  all  of  the  inhabitants 
to  come  together  at  the  central  place.     Curiously  enough, 
the  Greek  settlement  was  organized  upon  a  similar  plan. 

62 


THE    CIVIL    TOWNSHIP 


76.  A  Political  Division.  —  When  we  speak  of  any  polit- 
ical division,  as  a  school  district,  a  township,  or  a  state,  we 
may  have  either  of  two  things  in  mind.     We  may  think  of 
its  location,  its  extent,  and  its  boundaries,  or  of  the  body  of 
people  who  occupy  the  territory.     A  complete  definition 
must  contain  both  of  these  ideas. 

A  township  is  a  political  division  of  a  state,  organized 
for  certain  local  and  political  purposes,  the  inhabitants 
being  constituted  a  body  corporate.  A  corporation,  or 
body  corporate,  is  a  fictitious  person,  consisting  of  several 
individuals  associated  together  by  law  for  a  particular  pur- 
pose. When  this  purpose  is  that  of  local  self-government, 
it  is  called  a  municipal  corporation. 

77.  A  Political  Unit  —  We  must  become  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  organization  of  the  civil  township,  for  in 
New  England,  and  in  many  of  the  Middle  and  Western 
states,  it  is  the  unit  of  the  political  system.     Even  in  those 
states  where  the  county  is  the  political  unit,  one  of  the 
divisions  of  the  county  has  some  of  the  features  of  the 
township  government.     A  village  is  a  division  of  a  town- 
ship ;  a  city  is  a  township  having  special  privileges  under 
a  charter ;  a  county  is  a  group  of  townships ;  and  a  state 
is  a  group  of  counties.     As  in  our  study  we  shall  ascend 
the  scale,  we  should  bear  in  mind  that  the  aim  is  to  leave 
the  local  government  with  the  smaller  divisions,  and  to 
intrust  to  the  larger  only  those  general  powers  the  exercise 
of  which  requires  a  greater  extent  of  territory  and  a  more 
numerous  population  (302,  404). 

78.  The  Birth  of  a  Township.  —  A  civil  township  is  a 
corporation  (76),  and,  like  'a  natural  person,  it  must  have 
a  birth.     It  can  only  come  into  life  through  a  general  or  a 

63 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


special  act  of  the  legislature,  and  the  constitutions  of  some 
states  do  not  permit  its  incorporation  by  the  latter  method. 
The  act  always  contains  the  framework  of  the  new  organi- 
zation, at  the  same  time  giving  directions  how  to  proceed. 
When  these  conditions  have  been  complied  with,  a  new 
township  is  born.  It  is  usually  necessary  that  a  court,  or 
a  board  of  supervisors,  should  give  its  assent  to  the  forma- 
tion of  a  township. 

79.  Twofold  Purpose.  —  The  purpose  of  the  Southern 
parish  was  religious;  that  of  a  New  England  town,  both 
civil  and  religious;  that  of  the  Western  judicial  township, 
wholly  civil.     As  a  civil  organization,  the  town  elected  its 
officers,  provided  for  the  care  of  the  poor,  the  restraint  of 
the  vicious,  the  carrying  on  of  public  improvements,  and  the 
protection  of  the  health  of  the  community.     As  a  religious 
organization,  it  chose  its  own  ministers  and  church  officers, 
regulated  the  affairs  of  the  church,  and  provided  for  the 
discipline  of  its  members  and  the  education  of  its  children. 

80.  A  Pure  Democracy.  —  Isolated  as  were  the  early  set- 
tlements of  New  England,  and  widely  removed  from  the 
oversight  of  the  mother  country,  the  towns  became  "  minia- 
ture commonwealths,"  and  exercised  their  authority  "on 
thoroughly  democratic  principles."     Once  during  the  year, 
and  sometimes  oftener,  the  form  of  the  township  govern- 
ment was  that  of  a  pure  democracy  (20).     This  was  at  the 
annual  or  special  meeting,  when  every  voter  could  not  only 
cast  his  own  ballot  as  he  saw  fit,  but  could  take  part  in 
discussing  measures  which  were  offered  for  adoption. 

81.  The  Town  Meeting.  —  The  influence  of  the  annual, 
or  "  town  meeting  "  as  it  was  called,  was  very  great.     As  a 
means  for  acquiring  information  it  was  to  those  early  set- 


THE    CIVIL    TOWNSHIP 


tiers  what  the  newspaper  is  to  us.  Here  it  was  that  the 
voters  engaged  in  spirited  debate  over  the  domestic  affairs 
of  the  community ;  here  they  listened  to  and  were  influ- 
enced by  their  ablest  men  upon  matters  of  general  interest 
to  the  whole  colony ;  and  here  were  developed  that  spirit 
of  independence  and  that  familiarity  with  the  methods  of 
self-government  upon  which  has  been  reared  the  enduring 
structure  of  our  national  life. 

82.  The  Judicial  Township.  —  If  you  will  strip  the  New 
England  township  of  all  its  powers  except  the  judicial,  you 
will  have  left  the  judicial  township  of  California,  or  the 
justice's  precinct  of  Arizona.     These  are  the  extremes,  the 
system  in  many  of  the  states  being  a  compromise  between 
the  two.     In  California  the  county  has  three  divisions  :  the 
road  district,  the  election  precinct,  and  the  judicial  town- 
ship.    The  boundaries  of  each  of  these  divisions  are  fixed 
by  a  board  of  supervisors,   consisting  of   five  members, 
elected  from  the  whole  county.     The  judicial  township  is 
the  more  stable  of  the  three  divisions,  its  officers  being 
the  justice  of  the  peace  and  the  constable,  who  are  elected 
by  the  voters  in  the  township.     In  Georgia  there  are  over 
twelve    hundred   justices'    districts,    which,    however,    are 
called  "  militia  districts,"  in  each  of  which  there  must  be 
at   least   one   hundred   voters    capable    of   bearing   arms. 
These  remind  us  of  the  English  division  of  the  county 
into  hundreds.      In  Delaware  the  term  "  hundred  "  is  still 
preserved. 

83.  Township  and  County  Units.  —  In   comparing   the 
township  and    county  systems   of   local  government,  the 
former  would  appear  to  be  superior  as  a  school  for  politi- 
cal training ;  the  latter  as  a  business  organization  because, 

65 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


for  one  reason,  it  employs  fewer  agents.  The  one  is 
based  upon  the  principles  of  home-rule ;  the  other  is  mo- 
narchical in  its  tendency.  The  first  distributes  the  local 
offices  among  the  greater  number,  and  fixes  the  attention 
upon  the  township  ;  the  second,  by  transferring  the  local 
business  to  the  county,  arouses  a  greater  interest  in  county 
and  state  affairs.  In  those  states  where  the  township 
system  prevails,  the  annual  town  meeting,  generally  held 
on  the  first  Monday  in  April,  calls  out  a  much  larger  vote 
than  do  the  county  and  state  elections,  which  are  held  in 
the  fall.  Under  the  county  system  the  interest  is  focussed 
on  the  fall  election ;  for  the  officers  to  be  chosen  belong 
both  to  the  county  and  to  the  locality.  Even  the  justice 
of  the  peace  and  the  constable,  although  elected  by  the 
voters  in  a  single  judicial  township,  are  in  a  certain  sense 
county  officers.  As  a  school  for  patriotism,  the  county 
system  is  hardly  inferior  to  that  of  the  township  ;  for  the 
history  of  the  Spanish-American  War  shows  that,  in  this 
respect,  there  is  little  difference  between  the  citizens  of 
the  different  states.  We  are  all  patriots. 

TOPICAL   ANALYSIS 

1.  Jefferson's  estimate. 

2.  The  German  and  the  English  unit  of  government 

3.  The  New  England  township. 

4.  Definitions  :   political  division  ;  township  ;  corporation. 

5.  Incorporation  of  a  township. 

6.  A  civil  and  a  religious  organization. 

7.  A  pure  democracy. 

8.  Influence  exerted  by  the  town  meeting. 

9.  The  judicial  township. 

10.   Township  and  county  units  compared. 

66 


THE    CIVIL   TOWNSHIP 


QUESTIONS   AND  EXERCISES 

1.  What  church  organization  settled  New  England  ? 

2.  How  does  the  township  in  which  you  live  compare  in  size  with  a 
congressional  township  ? 

3.  What  is  meant  by  "  democratic  principles  "  ? 

4.  New  England  has  been  described  as  a  system  of  "  village  repub- 
lics."   Why  ? 

5.  What  qualities  of  good  citizenship  did  the  town  meeting  develop? 

6.  Give  another  reason  why  the  county  system  is  the  better  business 
organization. 

7.  What  objection  is  there  to  incorporation  by  a  special  act  ? 

8.  Connect  Samuel  Adams  with  a  town  meeting  held  in  Boston. 

9.  What  is  a  trading  corporation  ? 

10.  From  one  of  your  township  officers  learn  how  to  call  and  organize 
a  special  town  meeting.    Hold  such  a  meeting,  and  discuss  the  following 
question :  — 

"  Resolved  that  this  township  should  have  a  public  library." 

11.  For  the  discussion  of  public  questions  in  cities  what  takes  the 
place  of  the  town  meeting  ? 


VIII 

CIVIL  TOWNSHIP  — EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT 


84.  Powers  and  Duties  Classified.  —  In  the  two  kinds  of 
government  we  have  already  considered,  the  parent  or  the 
teacher  was  at  one  and  the  same  time  lawgiver,  judge,  and 
executive.     The  union  of  these  distinct  powers  and  duties 
in  the  hands  of  one  person  is  feasible  where  only  a  few 
individuals  are  concerned,  and  the  objects  to  be  attained 
are  easy  of  accomplishment.     But  when  the  people  become 
more  numerous,  and  are  distributed  over  a  wide  extent  of 
territory,  the  task  becomes  more  difficult.     It  will  now  be 
found  convenient  to  classify  the  powers  and  duties  of  those 
in  authority  into  the  three  departments,  —  executive,  legis- 
lative, and  judicial  (21). 

85.  The  Elective   Franchise.  —  In   a   free   country   the 
right  to  choose  public  officers  always  rests  with  the  people. 
This  is  called  the  elective  franchise,  or  right  of  suffrage, 
and  those  who  are  entitled  to  exercise  it  are  called  electors, 
or  voters.     The  elective  franchise  is  not  an  absolute  right 
(4),  but  is  conferred  by  the  law  of  the  state,  and  no  state 
confers  it  upon  all  the  inhabitants,  or  even  upon  all  the 
citizens.     The  right  of  suffrage  has  been  restricted  by  sex, 
education,  property  qualifications,  and  color.     It  may  be 
lost  by  conviction  of  a  felony,  removal  from  the  township 
or  state,  loss  of  reason,  or  change  in  the  law.     An  elector 

68 


CIVIL  TOWNSHIP— EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT 

must  have  resided  in  the  state  and  township  or  ward 
for  a  certain  length  of  time  before  he  can  vote.  He  must 
also  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  have  declared  his 
intention  to  become  one. 

86.  The  Township  Charter.  — The  township  officers  must 
look  for  their  authority  to  the  general  or  special  act  of 
incorporation  (78),  to  the  statutes  which  the  legislature  has 
passed  for  their  guidance,  and   to   the  decisions  of   the 
courts  which  have  interpreted  these  statutes.     The  act  of 
incorporation,  and  the  statutes  as  thus  interpreted,  form 
the  charter,  or  constitution  (23),  of  the  township,  and  the 
power  of  every  officer  is  strictly  limited  by  it. 

87.  Distribution  of  Powers.  —  An  examination  of  these 
charters,  in  different  states  where   the  township   system 
prevails,  will  show  that  they  agree  in  the  following  par- 
ticulars :  — 

1.  The  executive  duties  are  distributed  among  several 
different  officers,  who  are  elected  at  the  annual  meeting. 

2.  There  always  exists  a  legislative  department  under 
the  title  of  board  of  trustees,  of  selectmen,  of  chosen  free- 
holders or  township  board. 

3.  The  judicial  interests  are  confided  to  officers  called 
justices  of  the  peace,  who  have  a  limited  jurisdiction  in 
civil  and  criminal  matters.     The  ministerial  officers  of  the 
justice's  courts  are  called  constables,  or  marshals. 

88.  Township  Officers.  —  The  instruments  by  which  the 
township    accomplishes    the   purposes   for   which   it   was 
organized  (79)  are  the  township  officers.     They  are  chosen 
by  the  electors  at  the  annual  meeting,  and  hold  their  offices 
for  terms  of  various  lengths  as  provided  by  the  laws  of  the 
particular  state  in  which  the  township  is  situated.     The 


TRAINING   FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


powers  and  duties  of  public  officers  are  carefully  defined 
by  law,  and  a  penalty  (26)  can  be  inflicted  upon  any  one 
who  fails  to  discharge  it. 

89.  Chief  Executive.  —  Sometimes  the  general  manage- 
ment of  town  affairs  is  put  in  the  hands  of  three,  five, 
seven,  or  nine  citizens  called  selectmen ;  but  as  a  rule  there 
is  one  officer  who  is  charged  with  that  responsibility.     No 
matter  what  title  this  officer  may  bear,  he  is  the  chief 
executive  of  the  township ;    represents  it  in  the  county 
legislature ;  appears  in  any  suit  that  may  be  brought  by  or 
against  his  township ;  and  ordinarily  acts  as  chairman  of 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  town  board,  and  sometimes  of 
the  other  boards.     In   some  states  he  also  assesses  the 
taxes  and  looks  after  the  poor. 

90.  Township  Clerk.  —  There  is  also  a  township  clerk 
who  has  charge  of  the  records.     He  is  clerk  ex  officio  of 
the  annual  meeting,  and  of   all  the  township  boards  of 
whatever  nature.     He  receives  and  keeps  on  file  chattel 
mortgages  (145),  keeps  an  account  with  the  township  and 
county  treasurers,   and  makes  out   and   transmits  to  the 
proper  authorities  all  the  election  notices.     The  records 
and  files  of  the  clerk's  office  may  be  freely  examined  by 
any  one  who  is  able  to  give  a  good  reason  for  so  doing. 

91.  Treasurer.  —  The  treasurer  has  charge  of  the  funds, 
receives  whatever  is  due  from  the  county  or  from  any 
other   source,    and   pays   out   the   money   upon    properly 
drawn  warrants.     He  also  renders  an  account  at  the  close 
of  the  year  to  the  township  board.     In  some  states  he 
collects  the  taxes,  always  gives  a  bond  to  secure  the  town- 
ship against  loss,  and  as  a  rule  can  hold  his  office  for  not 
more  than  two  terms  in  succession. 

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CIVIL  TOWNSHIP— EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT 

92.  Highway    Commissioner.  —  The    highway    commis- 
sioner has  general  charge  of  all  the  roads  and  bridges  in 
the  county.     He  divides  the  township  into  road  districts, 
lays  out  new  highways,  and  orders  repairs  upon  the  old 
roads   when   he   deems   it   necessary.     The  overseers  of 
highways  work  under  his  supervision,  and  it  is  his  duty 
to   bring   suit   against   them    for   neglect   when   occasion 
demands.    All  bridges  are  constructed  and  repaired  under 
his  direction. 

93.  Other  Officers.  —  In  addition  to  the  officers  already 
mentioned,  there  are  often  pound  masters,  fence  viewers, 
a  health  officer  who  must,  if  possible,  be  a  competent  phy- 
sician, and  such  others  as  may  be  required  from  time  to 
time  by  the  peculiar  situation  of  the  community.     It  will 
be  seen  that  a  large  number  of  the  citizens  of  a  township 
are  actively  interested  in  the  management  of  its  affairs. 
In  the  course  of  several  years  it  will  often  happen  that 
nearly  every  citizen  of  the  township  who  is  sufficiently 
capable  will  have  held  some  office.     No  better  method  has 
yet  been  devised  for  inducing  men  to  think  than  to  require 
them  to  bear  responsibility.     The  holding  of  even  an  hum- 
ble office  involves  a  responsibility  which,  though  small  to 
the  more  experienced,   is  large   to  the  unskilled.     Such 
men  usually  take  pride  in  conducting  their  offices  well, 
their  ambition  is  aroused,  and  the  knowledge  they  will 
have  gained  from  serving  one  or  more  terms  will  make 
them    competent   critics   of   their   successors.      Thus   the 
township  system  is  a  most  excellent  training  school  for  the 
education  of  the  citizens. 

94.  The   County  System.  —  Under   the  county  system 
the  executive  duties  above  mentioned  are  performed  by 


TRAINING   FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


county  officers  (82).  In  California  each  road  district  has 
one  of  its  supervisors  as  highway  commissioner,  and  his 
deputies  correspond  to  the  township  overseer.  The 
county  assessor,  aided  by  his  deputies,  assesses  the  taxes, 
and  the  county  treasurer  collects  them.  A  county  officer 
looks  after  the  health  of  the  whole  county,  and  an  inspector 
of  charities  takes  care  of  the  poor. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Reasons  for  threefold  division  of  the  township  government. 

2.  Right  of  suffrage  ;  limitations  of  that  right. 

3.  The  township  charter. 

4.  Threefold  distribution  of  powers. 

5.  Township  officers. 

6.  Duties  of  the  chief  executive. 

7.  The  town  clerk  ;  the  treasurer ;  the  highway  commissioner. 

8.  Other  officers  ;  benefits  of  office-holding. 

9.  Discharge  of  similar  duties  under  the  county  system. 

QUESTIONS  AND   EXERCISES 

1.  Why  ought  the  term  of  the  treasurer  to  be  limited  to  two  terms 
in  succession  ? 

2.  Under  what  circumstances  would  the  office  of  "  fence  viewer  " 
be  necessary? 

3.  Should  the  right  of  suffrage  be  restricted  by  sex? 

4.  What  objection  is  there  to  incorporation  by  special  act? 

5.  Which  is  the  better  plan,  one  supervisor  or  three  selectmen  for 
chief  executive? 

6.  Draft  a  special  notice  for  a  town  meeting  to  vote  upon  the 
question  of  purchasing  a  site  for  a  town-hall. 

7.  Organize  this  special  meeting  and  discuss  the  advisability  of 
the  movement. 

8.  By  what  officers  must  a  warrant  on  the  treasurer  be  signed? 

9.  How  does  the  clerk  act  as  a  check  upon  the  treasurer? 

10.  How  can  a  township  officer  be  removed  in  this  state? 

72 


IX 

CIVIL   TOWNSHIP— LEGISLATIVE    POWERS 


95.  Vesting  of    Legislative   Powers.  —  Except  for   the 
brief  period  when  the  annual  meeting  is  in  session,  the 
legislative  powers  of  the  township  are  vested  in  its  boards. 
Sometimes  all  this  power  is  intrusted  to  one  board,  and 
sometimes  to  several,  which  hold  the  relation  of  principal 
and  subordinate.      Where  there  are  no  subordinates,  the 
business  is  largely  transacted  through  committees.      The 
resolutions   of   the  chief  board,  when  authorized   by  the 
charter,    regularly   passed,  and    properly    recorded,    have 
within    the   township    the  full   force  and  effect   of  laws. 
They   are    sometimes    called  "  by-laws,"  the  word  "  by " 
meaning  town. 

96.  Township  Board.  —  As  a  legislative  body  the  princi- 
pal board  can  authorize  the  levying  of  a  sufficient  tax  to 
defray  the  running  expenses  of  the  township,  in  case  the 
electors  fail  to  do  so  at  the  annual  meeting ;  grant  a  fran- 
chise to  a  street  railway  company  ;  establish  a  quarantine  ; 
divide  the  township  into  election  districts ;  make  the  nec- 
essary rules  and  regulations  for  the  guidance  of  the  com- 
missioner of  highways  ;  authorize  the  letting  of  contracts 
and  the  purchase  of  property  for  township  purposes,  and 
perform  such  other  legislative  acts  as  are  permitted  by 
the  charter. 

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TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


97.  Judicial  Powers  of  the  Board.  —  Besides  its  strictly 
legislative  duties,  the  principal  board  has  certain  judicial 
powers.     As  a  court  of  impeachment  it  can  try  and  re- 
move township  and  school  district  officers  who  are  guilty 
of  neglect  of  duty  or  of  malfeasance  in  office ;  audit  the 
accounts  of  those  who  receive  or  pay  out  any  of  the  public 
money ;    accept,    reject,    or   require    new   bonds    of    the 
treasurer  and  other  officers ;  and  confirm  or  reverse  the 
decisions  of  the  highway   commissioner,  and  of  the  sub- 
ordinate boards  upon  appeal. 

98.  Board  of  Registration.  —  In  order  that  no  one  may 
vote  at  the  township  meeting,  or  at  any  election,  unless  he 
be   qualified,  the    laws    provide  for  a  registry  of  all  the 
voters.     It  is  the  duty  of  this  board  of  registration,  just 
before  an  election,  to  give  every  elector  an  opportunity  to 
have  his  name  recorded  in  a  book  kept  at  the  office  of  the 
township  clerk.     In  case  any  one  offers  to  register  whose 
right  to  do  so  is  doubtful,  the  board  may  require  him  to 
make  oath  as  to  his  qualifications. 

99.  Board  of  Election  Inspectors.  —  This  board  has  gen- 
eral charge  of  the  elections,  receives  the   ballots,  counts 
them,  and  declares  what  officers  are  legally  elected.      The 
township  board,  assisted  by  one  or  more   clerks,  usually 
acts  as  a  board  of  election  inspectors  ;  but  if  any  of  its 
members  is  a  candidate  for  office,  he  is  thereby  disquali- 
fied, and   some  one  else  is  selected  in   his  place,  at   the 
opening  of  the  polls. 

100.  Board  of  Health. —  It  is  the  duty  of  this  board  to 
devise  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  health  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  township.     It  makes  regulations  to  pre- 
vent the  spread  of  contagion,  respecting  burial  grounds, 

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CIVIL    TOWNSHIP  — LEGISLATIVE    POWERS 

and  for  the  abatement  of  nuisances.  It  appoints  the 
health  officer,  who  must  usually  be  a  reputable  physician, 
if  one  can  be  obtained  in  the  township;  audits  his  accounts 
both  for  professional  services  and  for  necessaries  furnished 
the  sick ;  and  gives  public  notice  to  travellers  of  infected 
places. 

101.  Board  of  Review. —  One   of   the   most   important 
duties  which  any  officer  has  to  perform  is  to  assess  the 
taxes.     It  is  the  duty  of  the  assessor  (89)  to  estimate  the 
value  of  each  man's  property,  and  he  should  be  careful 
to  treat   all   alike.     In   order    that    no    injustice    may  be 
done,  a  board  of  review  is  established,  before  which,  on 
certain  days,   any  taxpayer   who   feels  himself  aggrieved 
may  appear ;  and  if  too  great  a  valuation  has  been  placed 
upon  his  property  by  the  assessor,  it  will  be  reduced  by 
the  board. 

102.  Board  of  School  Inspectors. — The  school  district 
may  be  a  subdivision  of  a  township,  in  which  case  there 
is  a  board  of  school  inspectors ;    or  it  may  include  the 
whole  township,  and,  if  so,  the  school  board  usually  acts 
in  that  capacity.     The  schools  are  for  the  most  part  in- 
dependent of   the   township    government,  but   the    latter 
exercises    some    control  in  matters  which  do  not  pertain 
directly  to   instruction.       This    board    has    power   to    se- 
lect  school   sites,  to  appoint    district    officers  to    fill   the 
vacancies  when  the  local  board  fails  to  do  so,  and  must 
make    such  reports  to  the  county  superintendent,  to  the 
state   superintendent,   and  to  the  township  board  as  are 
required  by  law.     This  board  also   has  power  to   divide 
the  townships  into  districts  of  suitable  size,  and  to  alter 
their  boundaries  as  occasion    demands.     If  any  one  feels 

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TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


aggrieved  at  the  decision  of  the  board  of  school  inspectors, 
he  may  appeal  to  the  township  board. 

103.  Under  the  County  System.  —  In  those  states  where 
the  county  system  prevails,  the  legislative  and  judicial 
duties  performed  by  the  township  boards  are  performed 
by  the  board  of  supervisors  and  by  county  officials.  The 
former  acts  as  a  board  of  review,  appoints  the  election  in- 
spectors for  the  various  precincts,  canvasses  the  returns 
made  by  the  election  inspectors,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
receive  and  count  the  votes,  and  issues  certificates  of 
election  to  the  successful  candidates.  The  county  clerk 
keeps  a  "  great  register,"  in  which  must  be  recorded 
the  names  of  all  who  are  allowed  to  vote  in  the  county ; 
the  county  school  superintendent  takes  the  place  of  the 
board  of  school  inspectors,  and  the  county  health  officer 
performs  the  duties  of  the  board  of  health. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Vesting  of  legislative  powers. 

2.  Legislative  powers  of  the  township  board. 

3.  Judicial  powers  of  the  township  board. 

4.  The  registration  of  voters. 

5.  Inspectors  of  election. 

6.  The  board  of  health. 

7.  The  equalizing  of  assessments. 

8.  The  board  of  school  inspectors. 

9.  Treatment  of  similar  subjects  under  the  county  system. 

QUESTIONS   AND  EXERCISES 

1.  How  may  a  school  trustee  be  removed  from  office  for  neglect  of 
duty? 

2.  Frame  a  resolution  to  prevent  cattle  from  running  at  large,  and 
enact  it  into  a  by-law. 

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CIVIL    TOWNSHIP  — LEGISLATIVE    POWERS 

3.  Organize  a  town  board,  prefer  charges,  and  try  a  school  trustee. 

4.  Upon  what  principle  does  the  township  pay  for  the  care  of  the 
poor  ? 

5.  At  what  proportion  of  its  true  value  is  the  property  of  this  town- 
ship assessed  ? 

6.  Would  there  be  any  injustice  in  assessing   property  at  its  full 
value  ? 

7.  Upon  what  principle  may  an  owner  be  forced  to  sell  the  ground 
for  a  school  site  ? 

8.  Why  does  the  town  board  sometimes  remit  the  taxes  of  a  poor 
widow  ? 

9.  State  a  case  in  which  a  county  superintendent  of  schools  would 
act  judicially. 

10.  Frame  a  resolution  of  a  board  of  health  declaring  a  quarantine. 


77 


X 

THE  CHOICE   OF  TOWNSHIP  OFFICERS 


ELECTION   DAY 

"Who  serves  to-day  upon  the  list 

Beside  the  served  shall  stand ; 
Alike  the  brown  and  wrinkled  wrist, 

The  gloved  and  dainty  hand. 
The  rich  is  level  with  the  poor, 

The  weak  is  strong  to-day, 
The  sleekest  broadcloth  counts  no  more 

Than  homespun  frock  of  gray."  —  WHITTIER. 


104.  Candidates. — As  the  business  of  the  township  is 
carried  on  by  officers  chosen  by  the  electors,  it  is  neces- 
sary that  some  way  be  provided  for  their  selection.  Un- 
doubtedly only  the  ones  best  qualified  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  the  offices  to  be  filled  should  be  chosen ;  but 
it  often  happens  that  there  are  several  who  are  well 
qualified,  and  a  preference  must  be  expressed.  A  few 
days  before  the  election  a  number  of  the  voters  come 
together  and  make  up  a  list  containing  a  candidate  for 
each  office.  Such  a  meeting  is  called  a  "  caucus,"  and  may 
be  summoned  by  any  one  (257).  Usually  there  are  at 
least  two  caucuses,  corresponding  to  the  two  great  politi- 
cal parties ;  but  often  politics  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
township  election.  The  lists  made  out  at  the  caucuses 

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THE   CHOICE    OF   TOWNSHIP   OFFICERS 

are  printed  upon  one  sheet,  and  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  election  inspectors. 

105.  Preparation  for  Voting.  —  Generally  on  the  Satur- 
day before  the  day  of  election  the  board  of  registration 
(98)  holds  a  meeting  at  the  town  hall,  where  every  one 
who  wishes   to  vote  must  cause  his  name  to  be  entered 
upon  the  poll  book.     If  the  board  should  so  require,  the 
applicant  must  make  oath  as  to  his  qualifications.     On 
election  day  the  registry  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
board  of  election  inspectors,  and  no  one  is  allowed  to  vote 
whose  name  is  not  found  upon  the  roll,  unless  he  will  say 
under  oath  that  he  was  prevented  from  having  it  entered 
by  some  unavoidable  cause.     A  new  registration  of  all  the 
voters  must  be  made  at  regular  intervals. 

1 06.  The  Polls.  —  The  place  where  the  election  is  held 
is  called  the  "  polls,"  from  an  old  German  word  meaning  a 
head.     On  the  morning  of  the  election  the  board  of  elec- 
tion inspectors  take  their  seats  at  a  table  within  a  railing, 
the  clerk  produces  the  ballots  and  the  registry,  and  at  the 
appointed  hour  an  officer  declares  "  that  the  polls  of  this 
election  are  now  open."      The   polls  having  once  been 
opened,  are  kept  open  for  the  reception  of  ballots  as  long 
as  the  law  requires,  when  they  are  declared  to  be  duly 
closed.      An  adjournment  for  one  hour  at  noon  is  some- 
times permitted. 

107.  Method  of  Voting.  —  Methods  of   voting  vary  in 
different  states.     The  Australian  ballot  system  now  gener- 
ally used  is  somewhat  as  follows :  When  an  elector  wishes  to 
vote  he  enters  within  the  railing,  and  a  poll  list  is  examined 
to  see  if  his  name  is  upon  it.     If  it  be  found,  he  is  handed 
a  ballot  by  one  of  the  election  inspectors.     All  of  the 

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TRAINING   FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


ballots  have  previously  been  counted,  and  each  one  con- 
tains the  initials  of  an  inspector,  who  must  account  for  all 
of  the  ballots  when  the  polls  are  closed.  If  the  elector 
does  not  read  the  English  language,  an  inspector  will  assist 
him ;  and  if  he  cannot  speak  English,  an  interpreter  will 
be  provided. 

1 08.  Preparing    the    Ballot.  —  The    elector    now   steps 
within  a  booth,  where  he  finds  a  pencil,  with  which  he  puts 
a  mark  in  a  circular  space  at  the  head  of  the  list  he  wishes 
to  vote.     If  he  desires  to  vote  against  a  particular  candi- 
date in  the  list,  he  simply  crosses  off  his  name ;  but  if  he 
wishes  at  the  same  time  to  vote  for  the  opposing  candidate, 
he  puts  a  cross  in  a  space  opposite  that  name.     He  now 
leaves  the  booth  and  hands  his  ballot  to  another  inspector, 
who  deposits  it  in  the  ballot-box.    His  name  is  now  entered 
upon  two  rolls  prepared  for  that  purpose,  and  he  passes 
without  the  railing. 

109.  Challenges.  —  In  order  to  prevent  fraudulent  voting 
and  thus  preserve  the  purity  of  the  election,  challengers 
are  appointed  whose  duty  it  is  to  object  to  the  casting  of 
a  ballot  by  any  person  whose  right  to  do  so  is  open  to  a 
reasonable  suspicion.     When  any  one  is  thus  challenged 
one  of  the  inspectors  reads  to  him  the  qualifications  of  an 
elector,  and  he  is  required  to  declare  upon  oath  that  he 
possesses  all  of  them.     He  is  then  allowed  to  deposit  his 
ballot ;  but  if  he  should  swear  falsely,  he  may  be  punished 
for  perjury  (167). 

no.  The  Canvass.  —  Immediately  upon  the  closing  of 
the  polls  the  board  of  election  inspectors  becomes  a  board 
of  canvassers,  and  at  once  proceeds  to  count  the  votes  for 
each  candidate.  This  is  done  publicly,  and  when  the 

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THE    CHOICE    OF    TOWNSHIP    OFFICERS 

result  of  the  balloting  has  been  ascertained  it  is  declared 
publicly  by  some  member  of  the  board,  after  which  it  is 
entered  by  the  clerk  in  the  records  of  the  township.  The 
ballots  and  the  poll  lists  are  then  deposited  in  the  ballot- 
box,  which  is  locked  and  sealed,  and  so  remains  until  the 
next  election. 

in.  Majority  and  Plurality.  —  It  not  unfrequently  hap- 
pens that  a  candidate  is  elected  to  an  office,  although  he 
does  not  receive  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast.  This 
may  always  happen  where  there  are  more  than  two  can- 
didates for  the  same  office.  A  majority  is  where  the 
candidate  receives  more  votes  than  all  his  competitors ;  a 
plurality  is  where  he  receives  more  votes  than  any  one  of 
his  competitors,  but  less  than  a  majority. 

112.  Qualifying  as  an  Officer.  —  When  a  person  has  been 
duly  elected  to  an  office,  and  has  been  properly  notified  of 
that  fact,  he  must  file  his  acceptance  with  the  clerk.    When 
he  does  this  he  must  also  subscribe  to  an  oath  that  he 
will  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United   States,  the 
constitution  of  his  own  state,  and  faithfully  perform  the 
duties  of  the  particular  office  to  which  he  has  been  elected. 
He  must  also,  when  the  law  requires  it,  file  with  the  clerk 
a  bond  with  good  and  sufficient  sureties,  who  will  agree  to 
indemnify  the  township  against  any  loss  that  may  occur  by 
reason  of  any  neglect  or  wrong-doing  on  the  part  of  the 
officer. 

113.  Assuming  the  Office.  —  After  taking  the   oath  of 
office  and  the  filing  of  his  acceptance  and  bond,  often  a 
few  days,  and  sometimes  several  months,  intervene  before 
the  officer  is   entitled   to  take   possession    of   the  office. 
Until  this  event  actually  happens  he  is  called  an  "  officer 

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elect."  When,  however,  the  time  does  arrive,  the  officer 
in  possession  must  turn  over  all  the  records  and  whatever 
else  belongs  to  the  township  to  his  successor,  who  is  now 
responsible  for  its  safe  keeping. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Selecting  the  candidates;  the  caucus. 

2.  Enrolling  the  voters. 

3.  The  opening  of  the  polls. 

4.  Obtaining  a  ballot. 

5.  Preparing  a  ballot. 

6.  Challenges. 

7.  The  board  of  canvassers. 

8.  Majority  and  plurality. 

9.  Qualifying  as  an  officer. 
10.  Assuming  the'office. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Take  your  class  to  the  polls  for  an  observation  lesson. 

2.  What  is  an  instruction  ballot? 

3.  If  the  voter  spoils  the  ballot  given  him  by  the  inspector,  can 
he  obtain  another? 

4.  What  is  a  "  distinguishing  mark  "  ? 

5.  What  is  the  difference  between  "  a  straight,"  "  a  split,"  and 
"a  mixed"  ticket? 

6.  Can  a   person   run   for   an   office   to   which   he   has   not  been 
nominated  ? 

7.  How  may  one  lose  his  vote  when  there  are  two  offices  of  the 
same  kind  on  each  ticket? 

8.  What  is  the  origin  of  the  word  "  caucus  "  ? 

9.  Should  politics  have  anything  to  do  with  local  elections? 

10.  Under  the  county  unit  system  is  it  always  feasible  for  the 
board  of  election  inspectors  to  declare  the  result  in  the  judicial  town- 
ship? 


82 


XI 

PRIVATE   PROPERTY 


114.  Nature   of    Private    Property.  —  Private    property 
includes  not.  only  what  a  man  has  produced  by  his  own 
labor,  but  also  what  he  has  obtained  by  fair  means  from 
any  other  source,  as  by  purchase,  by  gift,  or  by  inheritance. 
Some  would  include  intellectual  acquirements,  others  would 
not.     One  may  acquire  property  by  employing  the  labor 
of  others,  provided  he  has  capital.     This  term  will  include 
horses,  money,  machinery,  the  books  of   the  professional 
man,  or  anything  else  which  may  be  used  as  an  instrument 
of  production.     Capital  is  always  the  product  of  past  labor 
saved. 

The  right  of  private  property  is  founded  in  nature. 
Originally  the  thing  produced  belonged  to  the  producer; 
and  the  idea  of  labor  expended  upon  its  production  under- 
lies, directly  or  indirectly,  the  property  rights  to  anything. 
A  man  naturally  has  the  right  to  own,  control,  and  dispose 
of  the  fruits  of  his  own  labor.  By  "  fruits  of  labor "  is 
meant  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  civilized  life. 

115.  Definition  of  Labor.  —  Labor  has  been  defined  as 
the  "  voluntary  effort  put  forth  by  man  to  secure  the  ob- 
jects of  desire,  which  is  another  way  of  saying  "  the  com- 
forts and  conveniences  of  civilized  life."     Labor  of  some 
kind,  mental,  physical,  or  either  is  a  necessity,  and  every 

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man  has  the  right  to  be  protected  in  performing  it  (12:2). 
The  food  which  sustains  us,  the  clothes  we  wear,  the 
books  we  read,  are  each  the  products  of  labor. 

1 1 6.  Division  of  Labor. — We  are  not  all  born  with  the 
same  tastes,  nor  with  the  same  capacity  for  labor.     One 
man  cannot  endure  the  close  confinement  of  the  store  or 
of  the  office,  but  delights  in  the  open  air  and  in  the  phys- 
ical effort  required  upon  the  farm  or   in   the   workshop. 
This   is  fortunate ;  for,  as  the  world  needs  the  product  of 
all  kinds  of  labor,  we  can  each  indulge  our  tastes  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  earn  a  living. 

117.  Exchange.  —  A  person  would  enj oy  few  of  the  "  com- 
forts and  conveniences  of  civilized  life  "  if  he  could  not 
trade  off  the  articles  which  he  produces  for  something  which 
another  man  has.      This  is  called  exchange.      When  the 
exchange  is  direct,  as  wheat  for  shoes,  it  is  termed  barter. 
When  wheat  is  given  for  money,  it  is  a  sale.     The  laws  of 
the  country  aim  to  make  exchanges  as  simple  as  possible, 
consistently  with  safety.      This  is  for  the  encouragement 
of  trade. 

1 1 8.  Commerce.  —  When  the  exchange  of  goods  for  goods, 
or  goods  for  money,  takes  place  between  individuals  resid- 
ing in   different  states  or    countries,  we  have  commerce. 
Goods  sent  out  of  a  country  are  termed  exports;    those 
brought  in  from  a  foreign  country  are  termed  imports. 
A  duty  is  a  tax  levied  upon  imports.     A  tariff  is  a  list  of 
dutiable  goods,  specifying  the  amount  to  be  collected  upon 
each.      The  revenue  of  the  national  government  is  largely 
derived  from  duties  upon  imports. 

119.  Money.  —  In  a  sparsely  settled  country,  where  the 
wants  are  few,  much  of  the  business  of  exchange  is  carried 


PRIVATE    PROPERTY 


on  by  barter;  but  where  the  population  is  more  dense,  this 
is  impossible.  Every  purchase  and  sale  implies  the  use  of 
money,  which  is  called  the  medium  of  exchange.  Any- 
thing can  be  used  as  money.  The  North  American  Indians 
employed  wampum  and  beaver  skins;  the  early  colonists 
of  Massachusetts  Bay  once  made  Indian  corn  a  legal  tender; 
and  the  settlers  of  Virginia  expressed  their  measures  of 
value  in  pounds  of  tobacco.  Gold  and  silver  are  best 
adapted  for  money  metals,  and  their  use  for  this  purpose 
is  universal.  They  are  desirable  for  personal  ornaments; 
are  the  most  imperishable  of  substances  ;  are  portable,  and 
contain  great  value  in  small  bulk;  are  easily  divisible  with- 
out loss ;  and  their  degree  of  purity  may  be  ascertained 
and  certified  to  by  the  public  authorities. 

120.  The  Coinage. —  In  order  that  even  gold  or  silver 
may  pass  freely  as  money,  the  coins  made  from  it  must  be 
a  legal  tender,  i.e.  every  one  must  be  compelled  by  law  to 
accept  the  coins  in  payment  of  a  debt.  The  right  to  coin 
money  and  to  make  it  a  legal  tender  belongs  exclusively  to 
the  national  government.  The  silver  dollar  and  all  the  gold 
coins,  if  they  are  of  full  weight,  are  a  legal  tender  to  any 
amount :  the  fractional  silver  coins,  up  to  ten  dollars  ;  pen- 
nies and  nickels,  in  sums  not  exceeding  twenty-five  cents. 
For  the  coinage  of  this  money  the  United  States  govern- 
ment has  established  four  mints,  the  oldest  being  at  Phila- 
delphia. Any  one  may  take  gold  to  the  mint  and  have  it 
coined  into  money  by  paying  for  the  alloy ;  but  this  is  not 
true  of  the  other  metals.  All  of  the  gold  and  silver  coins 
consist  of  ninety  per  cent  pure  metal  and  ten  per  cent 
alloy.  The  gold  dollar  contains  25.8  grains  of  standard 
gold;  and  the  silver  dollar  412.8  standard  silver.  The 

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coinage  began  in  1795,  and  the  silver  dollar  was  made  the 
unit;  but  in  1873  silver  was  demonetized  and  now  the  gold 
dollar  is  the  sole  standard. 

121.  Paper  Money. —  In  all  business  transactions  requir- 
ing the  use  of  ready  money,  where  the  amount  involved  is 
less  than  five  dollars,  silver  is  preferred  to  gold;    but  in 
larger  transactions  the  reverse  is  true.     For  the  payment  of 
sums  of  even  a  few  hundred  dollars  gold  coins  are  also  too 
heavy  for  convenience,  and  to  obviate  this  difficulty  paper 
money  has  been  invented.      Five  kinds  of  paper  money 
are  issued  by  authority  of  our  government, — greenbacks, 
national  bank  notes,  treasury  notes,  gold  certificates,  and 
silver  certificates.     The  first  of  these  only  is  a  legal  tender; 
but  as  all  the  others   are  amply  secured  by  the  national 
government,  they  readily  pass  for  money. 

122.  Value  of  Paper  Money.  —  As  gold  and  silver  coins 
can  always  be  reduced  to  bullion  and  then  used  in  the 
arts,  it  follows  that  this  kind  of  money  will  always  have  a 
commercial  value,  depending  upon  the  state  of  the  market. 
Considered  as  mere  paper,  a  printed  bill  has  no  value  ; 
and  yet  in  this  country,  at  the  present  time,  we  readily 
exchange  our  labor  and  our  products  for  our  paper  cur- 
rency.    We  have  no  hesitation  in  doing  this,  because  of 
our  faith  in  the  promise  of  the  government  to  redeem  its 
notes  with  gold  and  silver.     As  this  quality  of  exchange- 
ability rests   entirely  upon   the  promise  of   the  national 
government,  the  value  of  paper  money  will  always  fluctu- 
ate with  the  credit  of  the  government.     The  bills  issued 
by  the   Continental  Congress   became   utterly  worthless, 
because  no  one  had  any  confidence  that  they  would  be 
redeemed.     The  same  statement  is  also  true  of  the  bills 

86 


PRIVATE    PROPERTY 


issued  by  the  Confederate  states ;  and  during  the  Civil 
War  the  credit  of  the  United  States  was  so  poor  that 
its  greenbacks  were  worth  only  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar. 

123.  Taxation. — The  right  of  private  property  being 
an  absolute  one  (8),  it  follows  that  not  even  the  govern- 
ment may  take  my  possessions  and  give  them  to  another, 
though  it  should  offer  to  pay  me.  Still,  as  a  state  cannot 
exist  without  money  to  meet  its  obligations,  and  as  the  life 
of  the  state  is  of  far  greater  importance  than  the  right  of 
any  individual,  the  government  would  be  justified  in  taking 
any  portion  of  my  property  to  pay  its  own  expenses.  The 
exercise  of  this  right  is  a  necessity,  and  is  called  "taxa- 
tion." A  direct  tax  is  where  the  person  against  whom  it 
is  levied,  or  upon  whose  property  it  is  assessed,  actually 
pays  it.  An  indirect  tax  is  where  the  person  against 
whose  property  it  is  assessed  pays  it,  but  recovers  the 
amount  by  an  added  charge  to  the  consumer.  Land,  poll, 
or  income  taxes  are  of  the  direct  kind ;  duties  on  imports 
are  indirect-  To  be  lawful  a  tax  must  be  levied  for  some 
public  purpose,  as  the  payment  of  public  officers ;  but  this 
purpose  may  also  be  the  support  of  schools,  of  the  poor,  or 
the  payment  of  pensions.  These  expenditures  are  either 
necessary,  or  such  as  rest  upon  considerations  of  public 
policy  alone,  and  both  justify  a  tax.  When,  however,  the 
object  is  not  public  interest,  but  private  advantage,  it 
ceases  to  be  taxation,  and  becomes  plunder.  The  courts 
would  not  permit  a  tax  to  be  collected  where  the  purpose 
was  to  establish  a  person  in  business. 

Closely  connected  in  principle  with  taxation  is  the  right 
of  eminent  domain.  "  Whenever  it  becomes  necessary,  for 
the  public  good,  to  open  a  street,  construct  a  canal,  charter 

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a  railroad,  lay  out  a  park,  or  to  perform  any  other  similar 
act  in  the  interest  of  the  public,  and  the  owners  of  the 
property  refuse  to  sell,  or  ask  an  exorbitant  price  for  their 
land,  the  state  has  the  right  to  condemn  such  property  to 
that  public  use,  and  any  court  having  due  authority  may 
compel  its  surrender.  This  is  called  the  right  of  eminent 
domain."  In  this  case,  however,  the  owner  must  be  paid 
what  his  property  is  reasonably  worth,  the  amount  being 
usually  determined  by  a  jury. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Nature  and  origin  of  private  property;  capital. 

2.  Definition  of  labor. 

3.  Division  of  labor. 

4.  Exchange. 

5.  Commerce. 

6.  Articles  used  for  money. 

7.  Gold  and  silver. 

8.  Paper  money. 

9.  Credit  the  basis  of  value  in  paper  money. 
10.  Taxation  ;  eminent  domain. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  What  is  an  income  tax  ?    A  tax  for  revenue  only? 

2.  Why  are  gold  and  silver  coins  made  nine-tenths  fine  ? 

3.  In  a  fire  $2000  in  silver  dollars  is  melted;  what  is  the  mass  of 
silver  worth  to-day  ? 

4.  How  does  a  tax  differ  from  a  fine?    From  a  license?     (Cooley, 
Const.  Lim.,  §§  201,  584.) 

5.  From  a  tax  receipt  find  the  valuation  of  this  school  district. 

6.  What  is  meant  by  the  expression  "  16  to  i  "  ? 

7.  Who  is  a  "  tax-dodger  "  ? 

8.  In  what  way  does  a  taxpayer  receive  his  compensation  ? 

9.  Who  is  a  "  single  taxer  "  ? 

10.  Of  what  two  metals  is  the  alloy  in  a  gold  coin  composed  ? 

88 


XII 

REAL  PROPERTY 


124.  Land.  —  All  property  is  divided  into  two  classes,  — 
real  and  personal.     Real  property  is  such  as  is  perma- 
nent, fixed,  and  immovable  in  its  nature.     Land  is  always 
regarded  as  real  property,  and  ordinarily  includes  what- 
ever is  erected  or  growing  upon  it,  as  well  as  whatever  is 
contained   within    its  surface,   as   minerals  and   the   like. 
The  term  "  land  "  also  includes  any  body  of  water,  hav- 
ing reference  to  the  land  under  the  water. 

125.  Buildings.  —  If  the  buildings  erected  upon  the  land 
be  permanent  in  their  nature,  and  especially  if  they  be 
placed  upon   stone   foundations,  they  become   a   part   of 
the  realty.     This  is  always  the  case  if  the  owner  of  the 
soil  erects  the  building  himself ;  but  if  he  permits  another 
to  do  so,  under  an  agreement  that  the  building  may  be 
removed,  it  then  becomes  personal  property.     If  a  stranger 
erects  a  building  upon  another's  land  without  his 'consent, 
it  is  a  part  of  the  realty. 

126.  Waters.  —  One  who  owns  the  land  on  both  sides 
of  a  stream  owns x the  whole  bed;  if  he  owns  the  bank  on 
one  side  of   the  stream,  he  owns  to  the"  middle  of   the 
stream.     The  owner  of  the  bed  of  the  stream,  however, 
does  not  own  the  water  that  flows  over  it,  but  simply  the 
right  to  use  the  water  as  it  flows  along.     The  consequence 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 

of  this  is  that  no  proprietor  of  the  bed  has  a  right  to  use 
the  stream  to  the  prejudice  of  another  whose  land  borders 
upon  the  stream.  In  those  states  where  irrigation  is  prac- 
tised it  is  generally  held  that  the  use  of  the  water  for  this 
purpose  belongs  to  the  first  appropriator. 

127.  Wild  Animals.  —  By  reason  of  the  ownership  of 
the  soil,  the  proprietor  has  a  qualified  property  in  the  wild 
animals  found  upon  it,  and  in  the  fish  in  the  stream.     A 
stranger  has  no  right  to  go  upon  another's  land,  without 
permission,  to  kill  game  or  to  take  fish ;  and  if  he  does  so, 
the  game  so  killed,  or  the  fish  so  caught,  belong  to  the 
owner  of  the  soil.     If  a  hunter  starts  game  on  A's  land, 
pursues  it  upon   B's  land,    and  there  kills  it,   the  game 
belongs   to   the   hunter.      Finding   bees    in    a   tree   upon 
another's  land  gives  the  finder  no  right  to  the  bees  or  to 
the  tree. 

128.  Kind   of   Interest  —  Real     property    is    generally 
called  real  estate ;  but  the  latter  term  refers  rather  to  the 
kind  of  interest  a  person  has.     It  may  be  full  ownership, 
in  which  case  the  owner  may  dispose  of  it  as  he  sees  fit. 
It  may  be  a  conditional  interest,  to  end  with  the  happen- 
ing of  a  certain  event.     The  tenant  may  have  the  right  to 
occupy  the  premises  for  a  definite  period,  as  for  five  years  ; 
or  for  an  indefinite  time  and  at  the  will  of  another. 

129.  Freeholds.  —  An  estate  of  inheritance  is  one  that 
goes  to  the  owner's  heirs  at  his  death.     A  life  estate  is 
where  a  lease  of  land  is  made  to  a  man  to  hold  for  the 
term  of  his  own  life,  or  for  the  life  of  another,  or  for  more 
lives  than  one.     These  estates  are  called  freeholds,  because 
they  formerly  required  actual  possession  of  the  soil.     To 
be   considered   a   freehold,  an  interest  in  land  must   be 

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REAL   PROPERTY 


indeterminate  as  to  time,  and  immovable  as  to  place.  In 
some  states  only  freeholders  can  sit  upon  juries,  or  vote 
upon  certain  questions. 

130.  Dower  and  Courtesy.  —  A   dower   interest   is   the 
right  which  the  widow  has  to  the  use  of  one-third  of  all 
the  real  estate  which   her   husband   owned  at  any  time 
during  the  marriage.      In  those  states  where  women  are 
allowed   to  vote  at  school   elections,    but   where  no  one 
can  vote  to  raise  money,  or  hold  an  office  in  the  district 
unless  he  or  she  be  a  freeholder,  a  dower  interest  would 
enable  the  widow  both  to  vote  and   to  hold  the  office. 
These  rights  do  not  attach  during  the  life  of  the  husband. 

In  some  states  the  husband,  on  the  death  of  the  wife,  is 
entitled  to  the  use  of  her  estate  during  his  own  lifetime. 
Generally  this  is  not  the  case  unless  a  lawful  child  has 
been  born  to  them  which  could  have  inherited  the  mother's 
property.  Like  a  dower  interest,  an  estate  by  the  courtesy 
is  a  freehold. 

131.  Community  Property.  —  In  California  and  a  few 
other  states  a  distinction  is  made  between  property  acquired 
before   marriage   by    either    husband   or   wife,    and    that 
acquired  after  marriage.     The  former  is  called  separate 
property ;  the  latter,  community  property.     All  property 
acquired  by  the  husband,  or  the  wife,  or  the  minor  children 
during  the  marriage,  except  what  is  acquired  by  gift,  devise, 
or  descent,  or  earned  by  the  wife  or  minor  children  while 
living  separate  and  apart  from  the  husband,  is  deemed  the 
common  property  of  the  husband  and  the  wife.    While  the 
husband  and  wife  live  together,  the  former,  for  a  valuable 
consideration,  may  dispose  of  the  community  property  as 
he  sees  fit,  except  in  case  of  the  homestead.     Upon  the 

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death  of  the  wife  the  whole  belongs  to  the  husband.  If  the 
husband  should  die  first,  the  half  goes  to  the  wife  and  the 
remainder  to  his  heirs,  unless  otherwise  disposed  of  by  will. 
The  details  will  differ  in  the  several  states  using  this  plan. 

132.  Title  to  Real  Property. — Title  means  the  same  as 
ownership  ( 1 39).     It  is  not  the  same  as  possession,  for  a  man 
may  possess  what  he  does  not  own,  and  own  what  he  does 
not  possess.      One  may  become  the  lawful  owner  of  real 
property  either   by  purchase  or   by  descent.      Purchase 
means  the  acquiring  of  property  in  any  other  way  than 
by  descent. 

The  title  may  be  transferred  in  either  of  two  ways.  First, 
by  act  and  operation  of  law,  as  in  the  case  of  the  owner 
dying  without  a  will,  the  property  will  go  to  his  heirs. 
Second,  it  may  be  transferred  by  the  owner's  personal  act, 
as  by  gift,  by  will,  or  by  sale. 

133.  Deeds.  —  Every  transfer  of  the  title  to  real  property 
must  be  by  an   instrument  in  writing,  called  a  deed.     A 
quit-claim  deed  is  one  that  transfers  whatever  interest  the 
owner  may  have.     A  warranty  deed  conveys  an  absolute 
title,  and  also  contains  a  clause  whereby  the  grantor  agrees 
to  pay  the  grantee  for  any  loss  which  he  may  sustain,  if 
the  grantor's  title  should  prove  not  to  be  good.     Unless 
the  wife  signs  the  deed,  she  will  retain  her  dower  interest ; 
so,  also,  the  husband  must  sign  the  deed  in  those  states 
where  he  has  the  right  of  courtesy.    The  grantor  says  under 
oath  that  his  signature  was  made  by  his  free  act.     He  does 
this  usually  before  a  notary  public,  an   officer  appointed 
by  the  governor  for  that  purpose. 

134.  Mortgages.  —  It  often  so  happens  that  an  owner 
does  not  wish  to  dispose  of  his  land  entirely,  but  desires  to 

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REAL    PROPERTY 


raise  some  money  by  pledging  it  as  security.  Frequently 
also  a  purchaser  of  land  is  unable  to  pay  the  whole  amount 
of  the  purchase  price.  In  each  of  these  cases  the  usual 
plan  is  to  secure  the  repayment  of  the  money  by  giving  a 
mortgage.  Unless  the  consideration  be  the  purchase  price, 
the  wife  must  sign  the  mortgage  in  order  to  convey  her 
dower  interest.  A  deed,  though  absolute  in  form,  if  given 
merely  as  security  and  with  no  intention  of  conveying  the 
title,  will  be  treated  by  the  courts  as  a  mortgage. 

A  mortgage  is  in  the  form  of  a  deed,  with  a  condition 
added.  The  condition  is  that,  if  the  money  which  the 
mortgage  was  given  to  secure  shall  be  repaid  with  interest 
at  a  time  specified  therein,  the  title  shall  not  pass.  A 
separate  paper  in  the  form  of  a  note  or  bond  always  accom- 
panies the  mortgage,  and  is  the  real  evidence  of  the  debt 
owed  by  the  mortgagor.  The  mortgage  itself  is  simply  a 
security. 

135.  Foreclosure.  —  Formerly,  at  the  time  specified  in 
the  mortgage,  if  the  money  was  not  repaid  as  agreed  upon, 
the  mortgagee  could  take  possession  of  the  land  ;  but  this 
custom  has  long  since  been  changed,  and  the  mortgagee 
must  foreclose.  Foreclosure  is  a  method  by  which  the 
land  is  appropriated  to  satisfy  the  debt.  The  method  differs 
in  the  various  states ;  but  the  mortgagor  is  always  given 
further  time  in  which  to  redeem  his  pledge.  This  right  to 
redeem  is  called  the  "equity  of  redemption."  If  the  mort- 
gagor sees  fit,  he  may  disregard  the  security  entirely  and 
sue  the  mortgagee  upon  the  note.  Or,  as  is  more  commonly 
done,  he  may  foreclose  the  mortgage,  sell  the  property,  and 
then  obtain  a  deficiency  judgment  if  he  does  not  receive 
enough  from  the  sale  to  satisfy  the  debt.  If  he  receives 

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more  than  enough  to  pay  the  debt,  the  excess  goes  to  the 
mortgagor. 

136.  Registration.  —  It  is  greatly  for  the  interest  of  any 
one  having  a  legal  claim  against  real  estate  that  the  writing 
which  shows  the  character  of  the  claim  should  be  recorded. 
This  record  is  a  notice  to  all  the  world  of  the  interest  you 
have,  and  no  unrecorded  instrument  from  the  same  person 
can  affect  your  title.  One  should  never  purchase  any  real 
property,  or  take  a  mortgage  upon  it,  without  having  the 
title  examined  by  some  competent  person.  This  examina- 
tion is  made  comparatively  easy  by  means  of  abstracts  of 
title,  which  are  generally  merely  indexes  showing  the  book 
and  page  upon  which  any  written  instrument  may  be  found 
which  in  any  way  affects  the  title.  In  some  states  it  is  the 
custom  to  obtain  a  certificate  guaranteeing  the  title  (154). 
As  in  a  deed  (133),  the  value  of  this  guaranty  will  depend 
upon  the  responsibility  of  the  guarantor. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1 .  The  nature  of  real  property. 

2.  Buildings  as  real  property;  as  personal  property. 

3.  Water  rights. 

4.  Property  in  wild  animals  ;  in  fish. 

5.  Full  ownership  ;  a  conditional  interest. 

6.  Nature  of  a  freehold  interest. 

7.  Dower  and  courtesy. 

8.  Community  property. 

9.  Title  to  real  property  ;  methods  of  transfer. 

10.  Deeds;  signature  of  the  wife. 

1 1 .  Mortgages  ;  the  note  which  accompanies  a  mortgage. 

12.  Foreclosure  ;  a  deficiency  judgment. 

13.  Registration;  abstracts  of  title. 

94 


REAL  PROPERTY 


QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Why  is  a  first  mortgage  better  than  a  second  ? 

2.  In  this  state  must  the  husband  sign  the  deed  to  his  wife's 
property  ? 

3.  For  how  long  a  period  does  the  equity  of  redemption  extend  in 
this  state  ? 

4.  When  is  a  quit-claim  deed  as  good  as  a  warranty  deed  ? 

5.  From  your  stationer  procure  a  mortgage  blank  and  draw  a  mort- 
gage on  a  farm  for  $500. 

6.  A  intrusted  $1000  to  B  with  which  to  buy  a  house  and  lot  for 
him.    B  bought  the  property,  but  took  the  deed  in  his  own  name.    Could 
he  hold  it  as  against  A  ? 

7.  If  you  should  lose  the  deed  to  your  house  and  lot,  where  might 
you  procure  a  copy  ? 

8.  If  a  man  should  find  $1000  in  gold  buried  upon  his  farm,  would  he 
be  the  owner  of  it  ? 

9.  What  is  the  test  whether  the  animal  is  wild  or  domesticated  ? 
What  effect  does  branding  have  ? 

10.  What  other  liens  besides  a  mortgage  may  there  be  on  real  estate  ? 

11.  Give  an  instance  where  the  title  to  land  was  acquired  by  adverse 
possession  (213). 


95 


XIII 

PERSONAL  PROPERTY 


137.  Varieties    of    Personal    Property.  —  The   different 
forms  which  personal  property  may  assume  are  well-nigh 
endless.     The  clothes  we  wear,  the  food  we  eat,  the  tools  of 
the  mechanic,  the  books  of  the  lawyer,  the  goods  in  the 
store,  the  flocks  in  the  field,  the  money  in  our  pockets  or 
in  the  bank,  are  each  and  all  of  this  class.     But  besides 
these  objects  of  the  senses,  the  possession  of  which  we 
actually  have,  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  personal  property 
which   one   may  have  only  the  right  to  possess  at  some 
future  time,  as  money  due  upon  a  note  or  bond.     Now  it 
often  happens  that  we  are  unable  to  get  possession  of  such 
property  except  by  an  action,  or  suit  at  law ;  and  hence 
everything  of  this  character  is  called  "  a  chose  (a  thing)  in 
action." 

138.  Goods  and  Chattels.  —  Personal   property  includes 
everything   of   value,  not  a  freehold  (129).     It   is   called 
"  personal "    because  it  is  movable,  and   may  attend  the 
person  of  the  owner.     The  term  "  chattels "  is  often  ap- 
plied to  this  kind  of  property,  probably  because  in  early 
times  wealth  consisted  almost  entirely  of  cattle.     The  term 
"  goods "    is   generally  understood  to  apply  to  inanimate 
objects,  as  household  furniture  and  the  like;  while  chattels 
include  living  objects  as  well. 


PERSONAL    PROPERTY 


139.  Title  by  Possession.  —  Ownership  is  the  right  by 
which  a  thing  belongs  to  one  person,  or  set  of  persons,  to 
the  exclusion  of  all  others  (132).     Title  to  real  property, 
or  the  right  of  ownership,  is  shown  by  written  instrument ; 
title  to  personal  property  is  shown  by  possession.     It  is 
not  always  certain  that  he  who  has  the    possession  of  a 
chattel  is  the  real  owner ;  but,  as  a  rule,  such  is  the  case. 
There  is  no  registry  to  the  title  of  personal  property  as 
there  is  to  that  of  real  estate. 

140.  Title  by  Contract.  —  Our  title  to  every  species  of 
personal  property  which  we  have  merely  the  right  to  enjoy 
at  some  future  time  is  founded  upon  contract.     A  contract 
is  an  agreement,  upon  sufficient  consideration,  to  do  or  not 
to  do  a  particular  thing.     One  who  is  able  to  transact  busi- 
ness upon  his  own  account  (58)  may  make  any  kind  of  a 
contract  he  sees  fit,  unless  it  be  forbidden  by  law,  or  im- 
possible to  perform.     The  most  important  principle  which 
underlies  the  doctrine  of  contracts  is  that  we  must  do  as 
we  agree.     If  this  were  not  the  case,  no  one  would  consent 
to  render  any  service  for  another,  because  the  other  could 
refuse  to  pay  him.     And  no  one  would  pay  in  advance, 
because  the  payee  could  then  refuse  to  render  the  service. 

The  liberty  of  contract  has  been  declared  by  a  learned 
judge  to  be  "of  all  the  rights  of  persons  the  most  essen- 
tial to  human  happiness."  Every  kind  of  business  is  a 
system  of  contracts,  and  commercial  law  is  in  great  part 
only  the  law  governing  all  contracts.  Thus  every  sale  of 
goods,  and  every  note,  draft,  or  indorsement,  is  a  contract ; 
every  act  done  by  a  clerk  or  other  agent  in  his  business 
is  but  the  carrying  out  of  the  contract  originally  made  with 
his  employer. 

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141.  Commercial    Paper.  —  One  of   the   most   common 
forms  for  a  contract  to  assume  is  that  of  a  draft,  a  check, 
or  a  promissory  note.     This  is  called  commercial  paper, 
because  in  business  transactions  each  circulates  as  money. 
In  the  business  world  few  of  the  larger  transactions  are 
made  by  actual  cash  payment.     If  a  merchant  in  Detroit 
wishes  to  pay  an    importer  in   New  York  for  a  bill   of 
goods,  he  deposits  his  money  in  the   Detroit  bank,  pur- 
chases a  draft  on  New  York,  and  sends  it  to  his  creditor. 
If  the  creditor  lives  in  Detroit,  the  debtor  gives  him  his 
check. 

142.  Promissory  Notes.  —  It  often  happens  that  a  man 
has  no  ready  money  to  deposit  in  the  bank,  but  he  does 
have    property,    which   gives    him    credit.     In   this    case, 
instead  of  making  use  of  a  draft  or  check,  he  may  give  his 
note.     A  promissory  note  is  a  written  agreement,  signed 
by  the  maker,  to  pay  a  certain  sum  of  money,  at  a  certain 
time,  to  a  person  named  therein,  or  to  his  order,   or  to 
the  bearer.     He  now  takes  this  note  to  some  one  who  is 
willing  to  make  him  a  loan,  gives  it  to  him,  and  receives  the 
money.     Sometimes   the   borrower  will  get  a  responsible 
person  to  write  his  name  upon  the  back  of  the  note,  and 
he  will  then  take  it  to  the  bank  where  it  will  be  discounted. 
Such  a  note  is  called  "an  accommodation  paper."     The 
one  who  writes  his  name  upon  the  back  is  called  an  in- 
dorser,  and  he  will  be  responsible  to  the  bank  for  the  pay- 
ment of   the  note  in  case   the   maker   fails  to  keep  his 
promise.     Some  banks  will  not  loan  money  upon  a  promis- 
sory note  unless  it  is  accompanied  by  other  security,  as  a 
bond  or  a  mortgage.     The  bond  or  mortgage  in  this  case 
is  called  collateral  security. 


PERSONAL    PROPERTY 


143.  Quality  of  Title.  —  The  title  to  personal  property, 
as  well  as  to  realty,  may  be  absolute  or  qualified;  it  may 
be  good,  bad,  or  doubtful.     A  thief  may  have  possession 
of  goods;  and  yet  he  has  no  title,  for  he  does  not  have  the 
right  of  possession.     One  may  borrow  a  horse,  and  thus 
have    the   right  of   possession ;    but   yet  he  is  no  owner. 
When,  however,  the  actual  possession,  the  right  of  posses- 
sion, and  the  right  of  property  unite  in  one  and  the  same 
person,  such  person  is  the  absolute  owner  of  the  thing,  and 
can  dispose  of  it  as  he  likes. 

144.  Transfer  of  Title  by  Sale.  —  When   one  who  has 
personal   property,  but    no    money,  desires   to    turn    the 
property  into  money,  he  may  sell  it,  that  is,  he  may  trans- 
fer his  absolute   title  in  the  thing  for  a  price  in  money. 
Ordinarily  the  sale  is  accompanied  by  delivery,  especially 
when  the  article  is  fully  paid  for ;  but  this  is  not  always 
the   case.     Sometimes  the  vendor,  or  the  one  who    sells, 
acknowledges  in  writing  that  he  has  transferred  the  title  to 
the  buyer,  or  vendee.     This  writing  is  called  a  bill  of  sale. 

145.  Chattel  Mortgages.  —  But  sometimes  the  owner  of 
personal  property  desires  to  retain  his  ownership  in  the 
article,  and  yet  to  use  it  as  security  upon  which  to  borrow 
money.     This  he  may  do  by  delivering  the  article  to  his 
creditors  upon  condition  that  it  shall  be  returned  when  the 
money  is  repaid.     The  article  is  then  said  to  be  pawned. 
Or  one  may  desire  to  retain  possession,  and  also  to  use  the 
property  as  security.     In  this  case  the  owner  executes  a 
mortgage,  which    acknowledges    that   the    property  shall 
belong   to    the    mortgagee,    if   a   certain    sum    mentioned 
therein  be  not  paid  at  a  certain    date.     The    mortgagee 
then  takes  the  mortgage  to  the  township  clerk,  or  to  the 

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county  recorder,  who  places  it  on  file,  when  it  becomes  a 
notice  to  'every  one  of  just  what  interest  the  person  in 
possession  has. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Varieties  of  personal  property  ;  a  chose  in  action. 

2.  Goods  and  chattels. 

3.  Title  by  possession. 

4.  Title  by  contract ;  the  liberty  of  contract. 

5.  Checks  and  drafts. 

6.  Promissory  notes  ;  accommodation  notes  ;  indorsers ;  col- 
lateral security. 

7.  Quality  of  title. 

8.  Transfer  of  title  by  sale. 

9.  Chattel  Mortgages. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1 .  Is  a  chattel  mortgage  of  any  value  if  not  recorded  ? 

2.  Write  a  promissory  note  payable  to  order. 

3.  Write  a  bill  of  sale  for  a  horse  with  a  warranty  of  soundness. 

4.  How  does  a  check  differ  from  a  note  ? 

5.  What  is  the  usual  sign  of  a  pawnbroker's  shop  ? 

6.  If  a  promissory  note  be  lost,  must  the  owner  lose  the  debt  ? 

7.  The  law  requires  that  a  contract,  where  the  amount  involved  is 
over  $  100,  must  be  in  writing.    Why  ? 

8.  What  is  the  meaning  of  "  sufficient  consideration  "  in  the  defini- 
tion of  a  contract  ? 

9.  Why  do  bankers  dislike  to  take  an  accommodation  note  ? 

10.  Why  must  an  indorser  upon  a  note  be  notified  of  its  non-payment 
at  maturity? 


100 


XIV 

BUSINESS   ENTERPRISES 


146.  A  Business  Enterprise. — The  expression,  "a  busi- 
ness enterprise,"  generally  conveys  to  our  minds  an  under- 
taking by  one  or  more  persons  to  buy,  sell,  manufacture, 
or  produce  something  of  real  utility.     It  involves  the  em- 
ployment of  capital  and  labor,  both  skilled  and  unskilled, 
and  conveys  the  idea  of  special  knowledge  and  responsi- 
bility on  the  part  of  the  proprietors  and  managers  beyond 
the  ordinary. 

But  there  is  a  secondary  and  broader  meaning  to  the 
expression  (i).  In  every  country  possessing  a  high  degree 
of  civilization  there  are  to  be  found  certain  associations  of 
individuals  which,  according  to  the  definition  given,  could 
not  be  classified  as  business  enterprises.  They  neither 
buy,  sell,  manufacture,  nor  produce  anything,  and  they 
give  employment  only  to  a  very  limited  amount  of  labor. 
Their  real  purpose  is  to  distribute  reliable  information  to 
those  who  are  willing  to  pay  for  it,  and  are  thus  exceed- 
ingly useful  in  bringing  capital  and  labor,  employer  and 
employee  together.  As  society  is  at  present  organized, 
such  associations  are  indispensable. 

147.  A  Partnership.  —  If  you  will  take  the  trouble  to 
read  the  signs  over  the  stores  and  upon  the  manufactories 

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in  any  city,  you  will  find  that  very  few  of  them  bear 
the  name  of  a  single  individual.  Even  when  they  do, 
an  investigation  will  probably  show  that,  in  the  majority 
of  cases,  a  single  person  is  not  the  sole  owner.  One 
reason  for  this  is  that  both  capital  and  skill  are  necessary 
to  conduct  successfully  any  business,  and  it  rarely  happens 
that  any  one  man  possesses  both  in  sufficient  degree  to 
enable  him  to  carry  on  any  very  large  enterprise  upon  his 
own  responsibility.  The  simplest  form  in  which  two  or 
more  persons  may  unite  in  any  lawful  business  their  labor, 
skill,  or  property,  or  any  combination  of  them,  for  profit  is 
called  a  partnership.  The  intention  of  making  a  profit  is 
essential. 

The  partnership  may  be  formed  by  a  simple  oral  agree- 
ment, or  it  may  be  in  writing ;  as  to  duration,  it  may  be 
indefinite,  or  it  may  be  restricted  to  a  certain  period  of 
time ;  as  to  responsibility,  it  may  include  all  the  property 
of  each  partner  not  exempt  from  execution  (39),  or  it  may 
be  limited  to  a  certain  sum  as  to  one  or  more  of  them.  A 
partnership  may  be  dissolved  by  any  one  of  the  partners, 
and  if  the  other  members  of  the  firm  object,  a  court  will 
decree  a  dissolution  and  require  an  accounting.  The  death 
of  any  one  of  the  partners  dissolves  the  firm.  If  a  partner 
sells  his  interest,  the  purchaser  does  not  become  a  member 
of  the  firm,  unless  the  remaining  partners  consent. 

148.  Corporations.  — When  the  volume  of  business  of  the 
partnership  has  grown  to  very  large  proportions,  and  often 
when  it  has  not,  the  form  is  frequently  changed  to  that  of 
a  corporation.  In  organizing  any  kind  of  a  corporation 
where  the  object  is  profit,  a  certain  amount  of  money  must 
be  subscribed,  which  is  called  capital,  or  capital  stock. 

102 


BUSINESS    ENTERPRISES 


This  "  stock  "  is  divided  into  a  number  of  shares,  and  the 
owner  of  each  share  is  a  stockholder.  These  shares  may 
be  bought  or  sold  like  bonds,  mortgages,  or  commercial 
paper.  The  holder  of  a  share  is  a  member  of  the  cor- 
poration, and  has  a  right  to  vote  at  all  the  meetings  of  the 
stockholders.  Thus  the  individual  members  may  change, 
but  the  corporation  always  remains  the  same.  The 
corporate  form  has  some  advantages,  which  should  be 
remembered. 

1 .  Powers.  —  A  corporation,   being  a  fictitious  person 
(76),  has  no  natural  rights  whatever.     All  of  its  powers  are 
derived  solely  from  its  charter,  which  must  conform  strictly 
to  the  acts  of  the  legislature  under  which  it  is  incorporated. 
It  can  transact  no  business  which  the  charter  does  not 
authorize,  anything  else  being  beyond  its  powers.     It  is 
for  this  reason  that  a  railroad  corporation  cannot  engage 
in  banking,  nor  one  organized  to  buy  and  sell  goods,  in  the 
work  of  manufacturing  them.    As  it  has  no  natural  powers, 
so  a  corporation  can  have  no  natural  death,  but  may  possi- 
bly live  forever.     The  term  of  its  existence  in  most  cases, 
however,  is  limited  by  law. 

2.  Management.  —  In  the  management  of  the  affairs  of 
the  partnership  each  partner  has  a  voice ;  but  not  so  with 
every  shareholder.     He  may  indeed  vote  at  the  annual 
meetings  at  which  the  directors  are  elected,  the  influence 
of  his  vote  being  determined  by  the  number  of  his  shares ; 
but  aside  from  this  all  the  business  is  done  by  the  board  of 
directors,  the  officers,  and  the  agents  of  the  corporation. 
The  board   of   directors  holds  regular  meetings,   usually 
once  a  month,  where  the  more  important  measures  are 
passed  upon.     The  acts  of  the  officers  derive  their  validity 

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from  the  charter  and  from  the  resolutions  of  the  board 

(47,  95> 

3.  The  Shareholders.  —  While  the  shareholder  with  only 
a  few  shares  has  little  to  say  in  the  management  of  the 
business,  nevertheless  he  has  some  advantages  over  a 
partner.  Individual  partners  are  personally  responsible 
for  all  the  debts  of  the  firm ;  the  liability  of  a  stockholder 
is  always  limited,  and  generally  to  the  amount  of  his  in- 
vestment. If  a  suit  be  brought  for  the  recovery  of  a  part- 
nership debt,  the  name  of  each  partner  is  included  in  the 
complaint  (1/8),  and  they  are  described  as  doing  business 
under  the  firm  name.  If  a  judgment  be  obtained,  an  exe- 
cution (186)  may  be  levied  not  only  against  the  assets  of 
the  firm,  but  also  against  the  property  of  each  partner ; 
and,  by  taking  proper  measures,  the  judgment  may  be  kept 
alive  for  years.  If  any  shareholder  thinks  the  business  of 
the  corporation  is  being  conducted  in  an  unlawful  manner, 
he  may  have  the  acts  complained  of  reviewed  by  a  court. 

149.  Joint-stock  Companies. — A  joint-stock  association 
is  neither  a  partnership  nor  a  corporation,  but  is  an  organi- 
zation which  has  some  of  the  features  of  both.  Its  object  is 
always  profit,  it  has  a  common  fund,  and,  in  the  absence  of 
any  law  to  the  contrary,  each  member  is  personally  liable 
for  all  the  debts.  Like  a  corporation,  however,  the  shares 
are  transferable,  the  business  is  carried  on  by  officers  and 
agents,  and  the  death  or  withdrawal  of  a  member  does  not 
dissolve  the  association. 

Joint-stock  companies  are  of  great  assistance  in  promot- 
ing new  business  enterprises,  for  as  the  money  actually 
paid  in  is  but  a  small  per  cent  of  the  face  value  of  the 
shares,  there  is  a  prospect  for  a  profit  to  be  derived  from  a 

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BUSINESS    ENTERPRISES 


rise.  The  method  of  starting  a  new  enterprise  by  means 
of  a  joint-stock  company  is  somewhat  as  follows,  the  one 
who  engineers  it  being  called  a  promoter.  Two  persons, 
we  will  say,  own  a  group  of  copper  locations,  which  they 
hope  will  develop  into  valuable  mines.  Having  no  money 
of  their  own,  they  organize  a  stock  company  with  one 
hundred  thousand  shares  of  the  par  value  of  $i  each,  turn 
in  their  locations  as  payment  for  a  majority  of  the  stock, 
and  secure  the  services  of  a  promoter,  who  sells  the  stock 
at  say  twenty-five  cents  per  share.  With  the  money  thus 
obtained,  the  company  now  develops  the  mines,  and  if 
more  is  needed,  an  assessment  is  made.  As  the  work  pro- 
gresses, the  value  of  the  stock  rises  or  falls  as  the  prospects 
for  making  a  profit  from  the  mines  increase  or  diminish. 
Sometimes  the  shares  come  to  be  worth  several  times  their 
par  value,  but  often  they  turn  out  to  be  worthless. 

150.  Stock  Exchanges.  —  A  stock  exchange  is  a  regu- 
larly organized  association  for  the  purchase  and  sale  of 
stocks,  bonds,  and  government  securities.  One  or  more  of 
them  is  to  be  found  in  nearly  every  large  city,  and  their 
aggregate  sales  are  great  almost  beyond  the  imagination, 
those  of  the  New  York  Exchange  alone  for  one  year 
exceeding  $1,000,000,000.  The  New  York  Exchange  is 
located  upon  Wall  Street,  the  membership  is  limited  to 
eleven  hundred,  as  much  as  $80,000  has  been  paid  for 
a  single  seat,  and  none  but  members  are  permitted  to 
do  business  upon  the  floor.  There  are  two  classes  of 
members,  the  first  of  which  operate  exclusively  on  their 
own  account,  and  are  called  "  bulls  "  and  "  bears  "  ;  the 
second  buy  and  sell  for  others  upon  commission,  and  are 
termed  stockbrokers.  A  curbstone  broker  is  a  dealer  in 

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stocks,  bonds,  and  other  securities  upon  commission,  but 
who  is  not  entitled  to  trade  upon  the  floor  of  the  exchange. 
Railroads  and  other  enterprises  requiring  the  expenditure 
of  vast  sums  of  money  sell  their  securities  through  these 
exchanges.  At  the  same  time  a  certain  degree  of  protec- 
tion is  afforded  the  investor,  as  no  stocks  are  listed  upon 
the  exchange  until  they  have  been  pronounced  worthy  by 
a  competent  committee. 

151.  Banks.  —  A  bank  may  be  defined  as  an  institution 
for  receiving,  loaning,  and  taking  care  of  money.  Some- 
times they  also  issue  money,  but  in  this  country  that  power 
is  confined  to  the  national  banks.  A  savings  bank  is  one 
which  receives  money  in  small  amounts  and  pays  interest 
upon  it.  Interest  is  a  payment  made  for  the  use  of  money. 
Most  banks  pay  interest  upon  deposits  left  for  a  certain 
length  of  time  ;  but  savings  banks  do  not  always  make  this 
restriction.  The  money  you  leave  with  the  bank  is  called 
a  deposit.  The  banker  will  give  you  a  certificate,  or  will 
make  an  entry  upon  your  bank  book,  either  of  which  is  a 
simple  acknowledgment  that  the  bank  is  indebted  to  you. 
It  is  only  a  contract ;  and  if  the  bank  should  refuse  to  fulfil 
its  agreement,  you  would  have  to  collect  the  amount  by  a 
suit  at  law. 

The  services  which  the  banker  renders  to  productive  in- 
dustry are  very  great.  He  receives  from  those  around  him 
the  sums  of  money,  little  and  large,  which  would  otherwise 
be  idle,  and  loans  them  to  those  who  wish  to  engage  in 
business.  The  lender  is  assisted,  for  he  receives  interest 
upon  his  money ;  the  borrower  is  accommodated,  for  the 
bank  furnishes  a  convenient  place  where  he  may  obtain 
money  to  carry  on  his  business.  The  bank  derives  its 

1 06 


BUSINESS    ENTERPRISES 


profit  from  the  interest  upon  the  capital  stock,  upon  depos- 
its which  draw  no  interest,  and  upon  other  deposits  which 
draw  only  a  small  rate  per  cent.  It  is  always  a  suspicious 
circumstance  when  a  bank  is  willing  to  pay  a  high  rate  of 
interest.  If  it  were  not  for  the  banks,  all  the  great  manu- 
facturing and  commercial  interests  would  soon  be  in  the 
hands  of  the  great  capitalists ;  for  only  they  could  obtain 
the  money  to  pay  the  employees  and  to  meet  the  other 
expenses. 

152.  Insurance.  —  Insurance  is  a  contract  whereby,  for 
a  certain  sum  of  money  called  a  premium,  one  party  agrees 
to  assume  another's  risk.  The  written  contract  which  the 
company  issues  is  termed  a  policy.  There  are  four  kinds 
of  insurance,  —  life,  fire,  accident,  and  marine.  The  com- 
panies differ  both  as  to  the  nature  of  their  organization,  their 
methods  of  conducting  business,  and  the  character  of  the 
policies  they  issue.  As  to  their  organization,  they  may  be 
divided  into  old  line,  mutual,  and  those  combining  both 
features.  Old-line  insurance  is  where  the  premium  is  at  a 
fixed  sum  per  annum.  In  mutual  insurance  the  premium 
depends  upon  the  losses  which  are  incurred,  and  is  paid  in 
assessments.  As  to  the  kind  of  policy  issued  in  life  insur- 
ance, we  have  the  straight  life  and  the  endowment  plan, 
which  embraces  a  savings  bank  feature.  The  amount  of 
each  premium  in  life  insurance  is  based  upon  the  expect- 
ancy of  life,  which  may  be  learned  from  tables  prepared 
by  an  actuary. 

The  total  amount  of  the  various  kinds  of  insurance 
carried  by  the  people  of  this  country  runs  into  the  thou- 
sands of  millions  of  dollars.  Almost  every  business  man 
carries  some  insurance,  and  generally  those  who  conduct 

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great  enterprises  take  out  large  policies.  The  benefits 
which  they  derive  consist  in  the  payment  of  actual  losses, 
and  in  the  sense  of  security.  Knowing  that  the  most 
destructive  fire  will  not  deprive  him  of  all  of  his  capital, 
and  that,  in  case  of  his  death,  his  family  will  receive  the 
protection  afforded  by  his  life  insurance,  the  business  man 
will  assume  a  responsibility  not  otherwise  to  be  thought 
of,  and  the  world  will  be  the  gainer  for  his  enterprise. 

153.  Credit  Agencies.  —  Commercial  agencies  are  organ- 
izations formed  for  the  purpose  of  finding  out  the  financial 
standing  of  every  one  who  seeks  to  obtain  credit.     It  is 
not  considered  safe  to  do  a  large  credit  business  even  in  a 
small  community  ;  but  where,  as  in  the  case  of  a  whole- 
sale merchant,  some  of  his  customers  may  live  a  thousand 
miles  away,  the  danger  from  loss  becomes  very  great.     To 
furnish  the  information  upon  which  a  merchant  safely  re- 
lies, credit  agencies  have  been  formed,  whose  representa- 
tives reside  in,  or  visit,  every  city  and  village  in  the  land. 
By  means  of  their  reports  the  financial  standing  of  every 
one  may  be  known,  and  thus  the  scope  of  business  enter- 
prise is  greatly  increased. 

154.  Indemnity  Companies.  —  Somewhat  similar  to  insur- 
ance companies  are  those  organizations  which  offer  indem- 
nity for  other  losses  likely  to  occur  in  the  transaction  of 
business.     Bond  indemnity  companies  have  for  their  object 
the  furnishing  of  official  bonds,  and  of  insuring  employers 
against  loss  from  any  dishonesty  on  the  part  of  their  em- 
ployees.    This  is  a  great  relief  to  the  one  who  must  other- 
wise sign  an  official  bond,  as  there  is  always  some  risk  for 
which  ordinarily  he  receives  no  pay  ;  it  is  a  kindness  to  the 
one  who  must  give  the  bond,  as  he  can   pay  for  what  he 

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BUSINESS    ENTERPRISES 


must  otherwise  ask  as  a  favor ;  and  it  assists  the  one  who 
is  seeking  employment,  as  he  can  apply  with  confidence  to 
a  perfect  stranger.  Of  course  the  indemnity  company  will 
look  up  the  applicant's  record  with  great  care ;  and  if  his 
life  has  not  been  an  honorable  one,  no  bond  will  be  given. 
Title  and  guarantee  companies  are  organized  to  insure 
titles  to  lands,  and  the  security  which  they  afford  to 
purchasers  is  obvious  (136). 

155.  Building-loan  Associations.  —  Another  organization 
which  benefits  the  investor  and  the  borrower  alike  is  the 
building-loan  association.     Its  purpose  is  to  furnish  a  safe 
investment,  with  a  good  rate  of  interest,  for  the  wage-earner 
or  for  the  person  with  a  small  income ;   at  the  same  time  it 
affords  the  one  who  has  a  little  money  and  a  steady  income 
an  opportunity  to  become  the  owner  of  a  home  by  paying 
for  it  in  small  monthly  instalments.     They  are  joint-stock 
associations,  and  are  sometimes  called  co-operative  banks. 
The  borrower  must  first  pay  for  his  lot,  and  then  the  asso- 
ciation will  advance  a  portion  of  the  money  necessary  to 
build  a  house ;  or  it  will  make  a  loan  upon  a  house  and  lot 
for  from  one-third  to  one-half  its  value.     The  total  assets 
of   the   building-loan    associations   of   the    United    States 
exceed  six  hundred  million  dollars. 

156.  Employment   Agencies.  —  An     organization    often 
very   useful    to    one    seeking   work    is    the    employment 
agency,  or  intelligence  bureau.     This  is  especially  true  if 
one  wishes  to  change  his  location,  or  is  in  a  strange  city. 
It  is  the  business  of  these  agencies  to  become  informed  as 
to  any  vacancies,  actual  or  prospective,  in  their  particular 
line,  and  to  recommend  suitable  candidates.     Sometimes 
there  will  be  a  central  office  in  one  of  the  larger  cities, 

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as  Chicago  or  Boston,  and  branch  offices  in  other  cities, 
as  Los  Angeles  or  Denver.  This  is  particularly  true  of 
teachers'  agencies.  It  is  a  brokerage  business,  the  appli- 
cant paying  a  small  fee  and  a  percentage  of  his  salary. 

157.  Trusts.  —  A  trust,  popularly  so  called,  is  a  com- 
bination of  capitalists  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  the 
manufacture  and  output  of  some  productive  industry.  It 
seeks  to  accomplish  this  by  buying  up  all  the  factories 
which  manufacture  that  particular  product,  and  thus  a 
monopoly  is  secured.  If,  now,  any  one  should  seek  to 
start  a  new  factory,  the  trust  will  lower  the  price  below 
the  cost  of  production,  and  attempt  to  drive  him  out  of 
business.  If  there  is  a  falling  off  in  the  demand  for  the 
particular  article,  instead  of  reducing  the  price,  the  trust 
will  stop  manufacturing  until  the  stock  on  hand  is  suffi- 
ciently depleted  to  warrant  resuming.  The  advocates 
of  the  trust  say  that  it  is  a  benefit,  because  by  reducing 
expenses  it  cheapens  the  cost  of  production,  which  is  for 
the  advantage  of  the  consumer.  The  opponents  of  the 
trust  maintain  that  it  is  an  evil,  because  it  discourages 
private  enterprise,  reduces  the  demand  for  labor,  and 
creates  a  monopoly.  A  trust  is  not  to  be  confounded  with 
a  trust  company,  which  is  organized  for  quite  another  pur- 
pose. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  A  business  enterprise  ;  a  combination  in  aid  of  it. 

2.  A  partnership  ;  how  formed,  dissolution,  Authority  of  partner. 

3.  Corporations,  important  features  :  — 

(1)  Powers  limited  by  charter. 

(2)  Managed  by  directors  and  officers. 

(3)  Shareholders  vs.  partners. 

1 10 


BUSINESS    ENTERPRISES 


4.  Joint-stock  company;    promoting  an  enterprise. 

5.  Stock  exchanges;  use  to  large  enterprises  and  to  investors. 

6.  Banks  ;  the  services  they  render. 

7.  Insurance;  collateral  security. 

8.  Indemnity  companies  ;  a  title  guarantee  company. 

9.  Credit  or  commercial  agencies. 

10.  Building  and  loan  associations. 

11.  Employment  agencies. 

12.  Trusts. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Give  an  example  of  a  partnership  in  which  no  capital  is  required. 

2.  A  partner  signs  the  firm  name  to  a  promissory  note,  given  for 
articles  not  used  in  the  partnership.    Is  it  good  as  against  the  other  part- 
ners? 

3.  Point  out  the  differences  between  a  municipal  (76)  and  a  trading 
corporation. 

4.  In  what  lawful  way  may  a  man  have  his  debts  discharged  with- 
out actually  paying  them  ? 

5.  From  a  daily  newspaper  find  the  value  of  N.Y.  Central  R.R. 
stock. 

6.  Explain  the  meaning  of  "bulls"  and  "bears"  in  the  stock  ex- 
change. 

7.  A  father  deposited  $i  in  the  savings  bank  for  his  son  on  his  first 
birthday,  $2  on  his  second  birthday,  and  so  on  until  his  twenty-first  in- 
clusive.   The  interest  was  compounded  semiannually  at  3  %  per  annum. 
What  was  the  amount  at  the  date  of  the  last  deposit  ? 

8.  Show  how  an  endowment  policy  combines  the  life  insurance  and 
savings  bank  feature. 

9.  Why  should  you  hesitate  when  asked  to  sign  a  bond  or  a  note  ? 
10.  Debate  the  following  question :  — 

"  Resolved  that  trusts  are  a  disadvantage  to  productive  industry." 


in 


XV 

PROTECTION  OF  PERSON  AND  PROPERTY 


158.  Courts  as  Instruments  of  Protection.  —  The  laws  of 
any  country  are  extremely  watchful  in  protecting  the  per- 
son and  the  property  rights  of  every  individual  under  its 
jurisdiction,  the  judicial  department  in  time  of  peace  being 
especially  charged  with  this  duty.     If  a  man  unjustly  with- 
holds any  of  your  goods,  a  court  will  assist  you  in  obtain- 
ing them ;  if  he  should  owe  you  a  sum  of  money,  the  same 
court  will  aid  you  in  collecting  it ;  if  he  should  attempt  to 
deprive  you  of  any  of  your  possessions  by  force,  the  laws 
of   the  land  will  sustain  you  in  resisting  to  any  extent 
necessary ;  and  if  he  should  injure  your  person,  or  sully 
your  reputation,  the  courts  will  give  you  damages  for  the 
injury  inflicted.     The  protection  of  person  and  property  is 
one  of  the  essential  functions. 

159.  Two   Kinds  of  Injuries. — Whenever   a   person   is 
disturbed  by  another  in  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of    his 
absolute  rights  (4),  he  receives  an  injury  for  which  the  one 
who  causes  it  ought  to  atone.     This  injury  may  affect  the 
individual    chiefly,  and    society  at   large  may  have  little 
interest  in  it.     For  example,  it  makes  little  difference  to 
the  public  if  A  purchases  a  horse  from  B,  and  fails  to  pay 
for  it ;  but  it  is  quite  another  thing  if  A  steals  B's  horse. 
The  one  is  a  civil  injury ;  the  other  is  a  crime. 

I  12 


PROTECTION    OF    PERSON    AND    PROPERTY 

160.  Two  Kinds  of  Law.  —  It  is  a  maxim  of  the  law  that 
every  wrong    has  a  remedy ;    and  as  all  wrongs    may  be 
divided  into  two  classes,  so  may  we  divide  the  laws  of  any 
country  into  public  and  private.     Public  law  regulates  the 
administration  of    state  affairs,  and  prescribes  the  duties 
of    public    officers.     It  also   governs  the  relations  which 
exist  between   organized   society   and  the  individual,  and 
punishes   the  violation    of    any    of    them    as   an   offence 
against    the   state.      Private    law   governs    the    relations 
which  exist  between  the  individual  members  of  organized 
society.     It  is  occupied  with  the  rights  of  individuals,  with 
the  modes  by  which  one  person  may  acquire  such  rights 
or  transfer  them  to  others,  and  the  ways  in  which  personal 
redress  may  be  obtained  when  these  rights  are  impaired 
by  fraud  or  violence.     There  is  indeed  a  third  kind  of  law, 
called  international,  which  governs  the  relations  of  nations 
in  their  intercourse  with  each  other ;  but  this  division  does 
not  concern  us  at  present  (392). 

161.  Civil  Injuries  founded  on  Contract.  —  Civil  injuries 
are  those  which  affect  the  individual  chiefly,  and  may  arise 
from   a  failure  to  perform  the  conditions  of   a  contract. 
The  remedy  for  this  would  be  in  damages,  the  amount  to 
be  found  out  by  a  suit  at  law.     Examples  of  civil  injuries 
arising  upon  contract  are  very  numerous,  and  might  hap- 
pen upon  so  simple  a  case  as  employing  another  to  work 
for  you.     If   the  price   be  agreed    upon  beforehand,  you 
cannot  refuse  to  pay  it.     If  there  be  no  fixed  amount,  the 
court  will   oblige  you   to  pay  what   the  services  are  rea- 
sonably worth.     The  contract  in  this  case  is  implied. 

162.  Civil   Injuries  founded  on  Wrongs.  —  A   civil  in- 
jury may  arise  from  the  wrongful  act  of  another  whereby 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


damage  ensues  either  to  person  or  property.  If  a  man 
borrows  my  horse,  overdrives  him,  and  thus  causes  the 
animal  to  be  worthless,  I  may  have  an  action  against  the 
borrower  for  the  value  of  the  horse.  So  also,  if  a  person 
circulates  false  reports  about  another  to  the  injury  of  his 
reputation,  he  will  be  liable  in  damages  to  the  one  injured. 
Suits  for  all  kinds  of  injuries  must  be  brought  within  a 
certain  specified  period  of  time,  or  not  at  all.  The  law 
prescribing  this  length  of  time  is  called  a  "  statute  of  limi- 
tations" (213).  -In  this  case  the  law  presumes  the  damage 
has  been  paid,  whether  this  is  actually  so  or  not. 

163.  A  Crime.  —  A  crime  is  an  act  committed  or  omitted 
in  violation  of  some  public  law  commanding  or  forbidding 
it.     It  is  a  wrong  action  viewed  as  affecting  the  rights,  not 
of  individuals,  but  of  society,  as  a  violation  of  public  peace 
and  order.     In  one  sense  every  violation  of  a  moral  law 
is  a  crime  for  which  the  violator  ought  to  be  punished,  but 
the  civil  law  does  not  so  look  upon  it.     A  man  ought  to 
keep  his  promise ;  but  if  he  makes  an  oral  contract  to  sell 
his  land,  or  to  pay  the  debt  of  another,  or  to  purchase  per- 
sonal property  above  the  value  of  $$o,  and  should  fail  to 
keep  his  promise,  this  is  no  crime,  and  in  most  states  it  is 
not  even  a  civil  injury.     The  law  usually  prescribes  that 
such  contracts  shall  be  in  writing. 

164.  Misdemeanors.  —  The   law   does   not   look   on   all 
criminal   acts   with    the   same   degree   of   disfavor,   as  is 
clearly  shown  by  the  character  of  the  punishment.     A 
misdemeanor  is  a  petty  crime  the  punishment  for  which 
is  a  small  fine,  or  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  or  in  a 
house  of  correction.     The  stealing  of  property  worth  less 
than  $25  is  a  misdemeanor,  as  is  also  disorderly  conduct. 

114 


PROTECTION    OF    PERSON   AND    PROPERTY 

165.  A  Felony.  — The  term  "felony  "  does  not  have  the 
same  meaning  in  all  states.     In  Ohio  it  is  used  in  about 
the  same  sense   that  the   word  crime  is   elsewhere.     In 
Michigan  it  is  construed  to  mean  an  offence  punishable 
by  death,  or  by  imprisonment  in  the  state  prison.     Even 
in  Michigan,  however,  the,  term  "felonious"  is  synonymous 
with  "  criminal "  and  "  feloniously  "  with  "  criminally."     At 
common  law  (24)  any  crime  was  a  felony,  if  the  punish- 
ment was  forfeiture  of  land  or  goods. 

166.  Treason.  —  The  highest  crime  against  society,  or 
the  state,  is  treason,  because  it  aims  at  the  overthrow  of  the 
government  itself.     In  all  countries  the  punishment  for 
treason  is  death.     In  the  United  States  the  crime  consists 
only  in  levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their 
enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort.  (Const.  Art.  Ill,  §  3.) 

167.  Perjury.  —  Next  to  the  preservation  of  its  own  life 
the  state  is  interested  in   having  justice  properly  meted 
out  to  its  people.     This  cannot  be  done  unless  witnesses 
in  the  courts  can  be  compelled  to  tell  the  truth.     When, 
in  a  judicial  proceeding,  having  been  duly  summoned  to 
testify,  a  person  swears  absolutely,  wilfully,  and  falsely,  in 
a  matter  of  some  consequence  to  the  point  in  question,  he 
commits  the  crime  of  perjury.     This  is  a  felony,  the  severity 
of  the  punishment  varying  accord»£*to  the  circumstances 
of  the  case.     It  may  even  extend  to  imprisonment  for  life. 

168.  Murder.  —  The  greatest  offence  which  one  man  can 
commit  against  another  is  to  take  his  life.     Murder  con- 
sists in  the  unlawful  killing  of  a  human  being,  by  a  person 
of  sound  memory  and  discretion,  with  malice  aforethought. 
Malice  here  means  an  intentional  killing,  without  just  cause 
or  excuse.     Accident  would  be  a  good  "excuse,"  and  self- 

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defence  a  "just  cause."  The  penalty  for  murder  is  death, 
or  life  imprisonment.  If  a  man  in  a  sudden  outburst  of 
anger  kill  another,  it  is  manslaughter,  a  crime  punishable 
only  with  imprisonment. 

169.  Arson.  —  Arson  is  the  malicious  burning  of  another's 
dwelling-house ;  and  in  some  states  it  includes  the  burning 
of  any  building  belonging  to  another.     This  is  the  highest 
offence  against  personal  property,  because  it  utterly  de- 
stroys it.     When  the  dwelling-house  is  burned,  especially 
in  the  night  time,  the  crime  is  greatly  aggravated ;  for  not 
only  is  the  shelter  of  the  family  destroyed,  but  their  house- 
hold goods,  and  even  their  very  lives  are  put  in  jeopardy. 

170.  Civil  Injury  and  Crime. — The  civil  injury  which 
one  inflicts  upon  another  by  the  commission  of  a  crime  is 
not  settled  when  the  criminal  has  served  a  term  in  the 
penitentiary.     If  A  steals  B's  horse,  the  authorities  will 
prosecute  him  for  larceny.     B  may,  however,  at  any  time 
he  sees  fit,  commence  a  civil  action  against  A  for  the  value 
of  the  horse,  and  the  one  action  has  nothing  whatever  to 
do  with  the  other. 

171.  Compounding  a  Felony.  —  A  private  person  is  not 
permitted  to  settle  with  another  for  a  felony.     He  may 
receive  pay  for  the  stolen  goods,  and  thus  excuse  the  civil 
injury  done;  but  he  must  not  enter  into  any  agreement 
to  refrain  from  making  a  criminal  complaint.     Such  an 
agreement  is  called   "compounding  a  felony,"   which  is 
itself  a  crime  punishable  by  fine  or  imprisonment.     Misde- 
meanors for  which  the  injured  has  a  remedy  by  civil  action 
may  ordinarily  be  compounded,  and  the  order  of  a  court 
permitting  it  is  a  bar  to  further  prosecution  for  the  same 
offence. 

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PROTECTION    OF    PERSON    AND    PROPERTY 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Courts  as  instruments  of  protection. 

2.  Two  kinds  of  injuries. 

3.  Public  law ;  private  law ;  international  law. 

4.  Civil  injuries  founded  on  contract. 

5.  Civil  injuries  founded  on  wrongs. 

6.  Definition  of  a  crime. 

7.  A  misdemeanor. 

8.  Distinction  between  crime  and  felony. 

9.  Treason  the  highest  crime  against  the  state. 

10.  Perjury  the  highest  crime  against  justice. 

11.  Murder  the  highest  crime  against  an  individual. 

12.  Arson  the  highest  crime  against  property. 

13.  Civil  injury  and  crime. 

14.  Compounding  a  felony. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1 .  To  what  extent  may  you  resist  a  pickpocket  ? 

2.  Why  is  compounding  a  felony  an  offence  against  society? 

3.  After  a  lapse  of  six  years  the  law  will  presume  a  debt  to  have 
been  paid.    Is  this  protecting  the  rights  of  a  creditor  ? 

4.  How  does  legal  malice  differ  from  any  other  ? 

5.  Name  some  other  offence  against  personal  security. 

6.  Can  a  man  ever  steal  his  own  trunk  ? 

7.  What  is  the  difference  between  civil  and  criminal  libel  ? 

8.  How  does  a  court  determine  the  worth  of  one's  services  when  no 
previous  contract  was  made  ? 

9.  From  the  encyclopedia  find  the  meaning  of  the  statute  of  frauds. 

10.  State  a  case  in  which  one's  rights  may  be  impaired  by  fraud. 

11.  Can  perjury  be  committed  except  in  a  "judicial  proceeding  "  ? 


XVI 

THE    TOWNSHIP   COURT  — CIVIL   SIDE 


172.  A  Court.  —  A  court  is  a  place  where  justice  is 
judicially    administered.       The    word    "judicially"    here 
means  pertaining  to  a  judge,  an  officer  appointed  by  law 
to   inquire   into  the  facts,  to  determine  the  law,  and    to 
apply  the  remedy.     In  a  broad  sense  (i)  the  word  "court" 
also  includes  those  officers  who  assist  the  judge,  either  in 
finding  out  the  facts,  or  in  applying  the  remedy,  as  the 
constable,  the  sheriff,  and  the  jury.     It  is  that  body  in  the 
government  to  which  the  public  administration  of  justice 
is  committed  (21). 

173.  A  Justice's  Court.  —  The  township  court  is  called 
the  justice's  court,  from  the  title  of  the  officer  who  pre- 
sides over  it.     The  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  is  of  very 
ancient  origin,  it  having  been  transplanted  to  this  country 
from    England,  where   it    has    existed   for   centuries.     In 
some  states  there  is  only  one  such  officer  in  the  township 
or   precinct ;  but  often  there  are  more,  generally  not  to 
exceed  four,  depending  upon  the  laws  of  the  particular 
state.     These  are  sometimes  called  "  the  people's  courts," 
because   by  means  of   them   justice  is  brought  to  every 
man's    door.     Any   one    may    appear  for  himself,  or  for 
another,  in  a  justice's  court ;  and  generally  one  is  allowed 
to  conduct  his  own  case  in  any  court.      A  case,  or  suit  at 

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THE   TOWNSHIP    COURT  — CIVIL    SIDE 

^ 

law,  may  be  defined  as  a  question  contested  before  a  court 
of  justice. 

174.  A  Justice's  Jury.  —  Whenever    a    civil    suit     is 
brought  in  the  township  court,  either  side  is  entitled  to  a 
jury  trial ;  and  in  a  criminal  action  a  jury  must  be  had, 
unless  the  prisoner  especially  waives  the    privilege.      A 
jury  generally  consists  of  twelve  men  (285),  but  in  Michi- 
gan and  in  some  of  the  other  states,  a  jury  in  a  justice's 
court  consists  of  six  men,  chosen  from    the  electors  and 
freeholders  of  the  township.     The  jurors  must  be  "  good 
men  and  true,"  who  will  decide  the  case  upon  the  merits. 
In  a  civil  case,  the  one  who  demands  a  jury  must  advance 
the  fee ;  but  in  a  criminal  trial  the  expense  is  borne  by 
the  state. 

175.  The   Jury  in  History.  —  The  method  of  trial  by 
jury  has  been  used  time  out  of  mind  in  England,  and  also 
in  this  country  since  the  early  settlement.     The  jury  is 
said  to  have  been  peculiarly  the  offspring  of  the  English 
people ;  but  it  seems  to  have  been  made  use  of  by  most, 
if  not  by  all,   of   the  northern   nations  of   Europe,    and 
the  principle  was  recognized  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 
It  has  been  carried  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  earth  by 
the  English-speaking  race,  the  right  being  carefully  guarded 
in  the  constitutions  of  the  several  American  states,  and  in 
that  of  the  nation.     (Const.  U.S.,  Sixth  Amendment.) 

176.  Qualifications  of  Jurors.  — The  law  is  very  careful 
to  permit  no  one  to  serve  on  a  jury  who  will  not  be  likely  to 
render  a  fair  and  impartial  verdict.     This  rule  will  exclude 
any  one  who  is  of   kin  to  either   party,  or  interested  in 
the  suit,  or  who  does  not  possess  a  good  character.      The 
juror  must  be  an  elector,  a  person  of  good  judgment,  one 

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TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


able  to  speak  the  English  language,  and  in  most  states  a 
freeholder.  No  person  need  to  serve  if  he  be  over  sixty 
years  of  age ;  and  public  officers,  clergymen,  teachers,  and 
some  others  are  generally  exempt. 

177.  Civil  Jurisdiction. —  By  jurisdiction  is  meant  the 
right  which  the  court  has  to  try  cases.     The  jurisdiction  is 
carefully  limited  by  law,  and  is  either  original,  appellate, 
or  concurrent.     Original,  is  where  the  case  may  be  com- 
menced in  court ;  appellate,  is  where  a  higher  court  has 
the  right  to  retry,   or  to  rehear  a  case  that  has  already 
been    tried  in  the  lower  court ;  concurrent,  is  where  the 
plaintiff  may  bring  his  suit  in  either  of  two  or  more  courts. 

Civil  cases  must,  as  a  rule,  be  commenced  in  a  justice's 
court  where  the  debt  or  damage  does  not  exceed  $100; 
and,  with  some  few  exceptions,  any  case  where  the  debt 
or  damage  does  not  exceed  $300  may  be  commenced  in 
the  justice's  court.  Where  the  amount  involved  or  the 
damage  claimed  exceeds  $100,  and  is  $300  or  less,  the 
plaintiff  may  commence  either  in  the  justice's  court,  or  in 
a  higher  court,  at  his  option  (283). 

178.  The  Complaint.  —  Before  a  civil  case  can  be  com- 
menced in  a  township  court,  the  one  who  desires  to  begin 
it  must   make   such   a   statement  to   the   justice   as  will 
authorize  him  to  issue  the  proper  order.     In  some  of  the 
states  this  complaint  need  not  be  in  writing,   nor  made 
under  oath  ;  but  in  others  both  the  writing  and  the  oath 
are  required.     The  one  who  brings  the  suit  is  called  the 
plaintiff,  the  one  against  whom  it  is  brought  is  the  defend- 
ant, and  both  are  usually  individuals  or  corporations  (76). 

179.  The  Summons.  —  When  the  justice  is  of  the  opinion 
that  he  will  be  warranted  in  doing  so,  he  may  issue  a  sum- 

120 


THE    TOWNSHIP    COURT  — CIVIL   SIDE 

mons.  This  is  an  order  signed  by  the  justice,  directed  to 
any  constable  in  the  county,  commanding  him  in  the  name 
of  the  people  of  the  state  to  summon  A.  B.  to  be  present 
in  the  court,  at  a  certain  place,  at  a  time  mentioned  in  the 
order,  to  answer  to  the  suit  of  one  C.  D.  In  some  states 
nothing  need  be  said  concerning  the  nature  of  the  complaint; 
but  in  others  a  written  copy  must  be  attached  to  a  copy  of 
the  summons,  both  of  which  must  be  delivered  to  the 
defendant.  The  defendant  need  not  pay  any  attention  to 
a  justice's  summons;  but  if  he  does  not,  judgment  will  be 
rendered  against  him. 

There  are  circumstances  in  which  a  warrant  may  be 
issued  in  a  civil  case,  and  the  defendant  arrested  as  in  a 
criminal  case.  Formerly  a  person  could  be  put  in  prison 
for  the  non-payment  of  any  debt  which  was  found  'to  be 
legally  due.  Now,  however,  this  can  be  done  only  when 
the  debtor  has  been  found  guilty  of  fraud  in  contracting 
the  debt.  In  certain  damage  cases  also  the  defendant  is 
liable  to  imprisonment.  In  all  civil  cases  when  the  penalty 
is  imprisonment  the  plaintiff  must  not  only  pay  the  ex- 
penses of  the  suit,  if  the  defendant  is  unable  to  do  so,  but 
he  must  also  pay  the  board  of  the  defendant  during  his 
confinement  in  the  county  jail.  Sometimes  certain  classes 
of  prisoners  are  not  kept  locked  up,  but  are  given  the  jail 
limit,  i.e.  they  may  go  where  they  please,  but  not  outside 
the  county. 

1 80.  Obtaining  Possession  of  Property  before  Suit.  —  In 
some  cases  a  person  may  wish  to  obtain  possession  of  a 
specific  article,  as  a  horse,  which  he  claims  another  is 
wrongfully  detaining  from  him.  Or  it  may  be  that  the 
debtor  is  about  to  dispose  of  his  property  fraudulently,  in 

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which  case  a  judgment  would  be  worth  nothing.  Instead 
of  issuing  a  summons,  the  justice  would  send  an  officer  to 
seize  the  horse  and  deliver  it  to  the  plaintiff ;  or  to  take  the 
goods  into  his  own  possession,  and  to  hold  them  until  the 
plaintiff  could  have  an  opportunity  to  prove  the  legality  of 
his  claim.  If  the  plaintiff  could  do  this,  he  would  be  per- 
mitted to  keep  the  horse ;  or  the  goods  would  be  sold  to 
satisfy  the  debt,  including  costs.  In  both  these  cases  the 
plaintiff  would  be  required  to  give  a  bond  to  the  justice  to 
pay  all  damages  that  might  arise  to  the  defendant,  if  at  the 
trial  he  should  not  maintain  the  rightfulness  of  his  claim. 

181.  The  Subpoena.  —  It  often  happens  that  a  witness 
must  be  brought  into  court  to  testify.     If  he  will  not  come 
without  it,  a  subpoena  is  issued  to  compel  his  attendance. 
This  is  an  order  signed  by  the  justice,  commanding  the 
person  to  whom  it  is  directed  to  be  present  at  his  office,  at 
a  certain  hour,  on  a  certain  day,  to  testify.     A  copy  of  the 
subpoena  is  given  to  the  witness  by  the  officer,  who  tenders 
him  the  legal  fee,  and  he  is  then  obliged  to  obey  the  com- 
mand, or  be  punished  for  contempt  of  court.     But  no  man 
can  be  compelled  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  will 
a  wife  be  permitted  to  testify  against  her  husband,  nor  a 
husband  against  his  wife. 

182.  The  Trial.  —  On  the  day  designated  for  the  trial, 
the  plaintiff,  the  defendant,  the  lawyers,  if  any  are  em- 
ployed, and  the  witnesses  appear  before  the  justice.     The 
nature  of  the  suit  is  first  made  known,  either  by  the  filing 
of  the  plaintiff's  declaration  or  by  the  reading  of  the  com- 
plaint.    The  defendant  now  denies  the  rightfulness  of  the 
plaintiff's  cause  of  action,  in  whole  or  in  part,  and  the  trial 
proceeds.    A  jury  is  summoned  (201 )  if  either  party  demands 

122 


THE    TOWNSHIP    COURT  — CIVIL    SIDE 

one,  but  otherwise  the  case  is  tried  before  the  justice 
alone.  Usually  the  plaintiff  is  the  first  witness  called,  and 
explains  as  clearly  as  he  can  his  claim  against  the  defend- 
ant. The  witnesses  for  the  plaintiff  are  now  introduced, 
and  each  tells  his  story.  The  defendant  then  makes  his 
statement  under  oath,  and  is  followed  by  each  of  his 
witnesses.  The  lawyers  assist  the  court  by  questioning 
the  witnesses  in  such  a  way  as  to  enable  them  to  tell  a 
simple  story  that  shall  contain  all  they  really  know  about 
the  transaction,  and  nothing  more.  To  further  assist  the 
court,  after  the  examination  of  the  witnesses  has  been 
closed,  each  of  the  attorneys  makes  an  address  in  which  he 
seeks  to  justify  the  cause  of  his  client. 

183.  The  Verdict.  —  In  the  higher  courts  the  judge  de- 
livers a  charge  to  the  jury,  which  is  a  statement  of  the  law 
applicable   to  the   case.     The   justice    seldom    delivers    a 
charge,  for  in  this  court  the  jurors  are  judges  both  of  the 
facts  and  of  the  law.     The  verdict  is  the  opinion  of  the 
jury  delivered  to  the  judge.     It  is  usually  in  general  terms, 
"  for  the  plaintiff  "  or  "  for  the  defendant,"  the  jury  finding 
at  the  same  time,  in  cases  which  require  it,  the  damages  to 
which  the  victorious  party  is  entitled. 

184.  The  Judgment. — The  judgment  is  the  action  of 
the  court  before   which    the   trial   is   had,    declaring  the 
consequences  of  the  facts  as  found  by  the  jury,  or  by  the 
judge  when  there  was  no  jury.     This  is  always  in  writing, 
and  is  entered  by  the  justice  upon  his  docket.     If  the  trial 
was  by  jury,  the  entry  should  be  made  immediately  ;  but  if 
there  was  no  jury,  the  justice  is  given  three  or  four  days 
in  which  to  render  a  judgment.     It  is  very  important  that 
the  judgment  be  given  according  to  due  form  of  law,  or  it 

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will  not  support  the  execution,  and  the  officer  who  attempts 
to  levy  upon  the  goods  of  the  defendant  will  himself  be 
liable. 

185.  The  Appeal.  —  When  for  any  reason  the  defeated 
party  in  a  justice's  court  is  dissatisfied  with  the  result  of 
the  trial,  he  may  appeal  to  the  next  higher  court,  where 
the  case  will  be  retried  in  substantially  the  same  method 
as  in  the  lower  court.     There  is  this  difference,  however, 
viz.,  that  the  judge  is  generally  a  skilful  lawyer,  who  will 
see  to  it  that  each  party  to  the  suit  is  carefully  protected 
in  his  rights.     If  the  judge  should  make  what  either  party 
might  consider  an  error  in  the  interpretation  of  the  law 
applicable  to  the  case,  then,  usually,  another  appeal  may 
be  had  to  the  highest  court  in  the  state.     If  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Supreme  Court  no  error  has  been  made,   it  will 
affirm  the  decision  of  the  lower  court,   and  the  case  is 
then  finally  disposed  of.     If,  however,  the  Supreme  Court 
should  think  that  the  judge  in  the  lower  court  had  com- 
mitted an  error,  it  will  do  either  of  three  things :  reverse 
the  decision  and  dismiss  the  case,  grant  a  new  trial,  or 
modify  the  decision  and  affirm  the  rest. 

1 86.  The  Execution.  — The  last  step  in  civil  suits  is  the 
execution.     This  is  an  order  issued  by  the  justice,  in  the 
name  of  the  people  of  the  state,  directed  to  any  constable 
of  the  county,  commanding  him  to  seize  upon  the  goods 
and   chattels  of  the   defendant,   unless  they   are   exempt 
from  seizure  (38),  sell  them,  and  bring  the  money  to  him 
within  a  certain  number  of  days.     With  the  money  thus 
obtained,  the  justice  pays  the  debt,  satisfies  the  costs,  and 
returns  the  remainder  to  the  defendant.     If  there  is  an 
appeal,  of  course  no  execution  is  issued. 

124 


THE    TOWNSHIP    COURT  — CIVIL    SIDE 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Definition  of  a  court. 

2.  A  justice's  court. 

3.  The  justice's  jury. 

4.  The  jury  in  history. 

5.  Qualifications  of  jurors. 

6.  Civil  jurisdiction  in  justice's  courts. 

7.  The  complaint  in  civil  cases. 

8.  The  summons  ;  the  civil  warrant. 

9.  Obtaining  property  before  suit. 

10.  How  to  obtain  a  witness. 

11.  The  trial. 

12.  The  verdict 

13.  The  judgment. 

14.  The  appeal. 

15.  The  execution. 

QUESTIONS   AND  EXERCISES 

1.  What  does  the  word  "  court "  mean  by  derivation  ? 

2.  What  is  the  purpose  of  cross-examination  ? 

3.  Are  the  words  "  attorney  "  and  "  lawyer  "  synonymous  ? 

4.  If  asked  to  levy  an  execution  under  a  void  judgment,  how  may  an 
officer  protect  himself  from  damage  ? 

5.  What  is  a  justice's  docket  ? 

6.  How  long  is  a  jury  allowed  in  which  to  decide  a  case  ? 

7.  What  is  an  "  attachment  "  ? 

8.  How  else  than  "  judicially  "  can  justice  be  administered  ? 

9.  What  is  the  meaning  of  "  subpoena  "  by  derivation  ? 

10.  How  much  must  the  one  demanding  a  jury  deposit  with  the 
justice  before  he  will  call  one? 


125 


XVII 

THE  TOWNSHIP  COURT— CRIMINAL  SIDE 


187.  Criminal  Jurisdiction.  —  By  criminal  jurisdiction  is 
meant  the  power  which  a  court  has  to  hear,  or  to  hear  and 
determine,  accusations  of  crime.     The  criminal  law  of  this 
country  consists  almost  wholly  of  statutory  enactments, 
which  are  simple  in  their  nature  and  easily  understood. 
Jurisdiction  in  criminal  cases  in  a  justice's  court  is  limited 
to  misdemeanors  (164).     In  every  state,  however,  when  a 
man  is  arrested  for  a  felony  it  is  made  the  duty  of  the  justice 
to  inquire  into  the  circumstances,  to  see  if  there  be  probable 
cause  to  believe  the  accused  guilty,  and,  if  so,  to  hold  him 
for  trial  by  a  higher  court.     If  the  justice  thinks  there  is 
sufficient  ground,  he  will  commit  the  prisoner  to  the  county 
jail  until  his  trial  in  the  county  court,  unless  he  will  give 
a  bond,  signed  by  two  responsible  persons,  for  his  appear- 
ance in  the  higher  court  upon  the  day  of  trial. 

188.  The  Complaint. — In  a  criminal  case  the  complaint 
differs  in  some  very  important  particulars  from  one  in  a 
civil  case.      The  act  charged  is  looked  upon,  not  as  one 
committed  ^against  the  private  individual,  but  as  against  the 
whole  community.     In  this  instance,  therefore,  the  state  is 
the  plaintiff ;  and  the  one  who  makes  the  complaint,  often 
called  the  complaining  witness,  is  not  supposed  to  have  any 
especial  interest  in  the  outcome.     In  some  of  the  states, 
indeed,  there  is  an  officer  whose  duty  it  is  to  make  all  the 

126 


THE   TOWNSHIP   COURT  — CRIMINAL    SIDE 

complaints  in  criminal  cases  or  actions.  The  complaint 
always  charges  that  a  crime  has  been  committed,  specify- 
ing the  time,  the  place,  and  its  nature.  Provided  they 
have  been  perfectly  honest,  neither  the  complaining  wit- 
ness, nor  the  justice  who  issues  the  warrant,  nor  the  con- 
stable who  makes  the  arrest,  can  be  held  responsible  in 
damages  to  the  defendant,  although  he  may  have  been 
perfectly  innocent,  and  greatly  injured. 

189.  A  Warrant.  —  In  criminal  cases  the  action  is  begun 
by  a  warrant,  which  the  justice  issues  immediately  upon 
the  filing  of   the  complaint.      This  warrant   is  an  order, 
signed  by   the   justice,  directed    to  any  constable   in    the 
county,  commanding  him  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  the 
state  to  produce  the  body  of  A.  B.,  mentioned  therein,  to 
answer  to  the  complaint  of  one  C.  D. 

190.  The  Arrest.  —  Armed  with  the  warrant,  the  officer 
finds  the  accused,  shows  him  the  warrant,  and  takes  him 
into  his  custody.    Ordinarily  the  prisoner  will  be  committed 
to  jail ;  for  if  he  should  escape  through  any  carelessness  on 
the  part  of  the  officer,  the  latter  could  be  punished.      It  is 
very  rare  that  any  resistance  is  made  to  the  commands  of 
the  officer,  for  this  is  itself  a  crime,  which  might  meet  with 
severe  punishment.     If,  however,  any  resistance  should  be 
offered,  the  officer  could  employ  all  the  force  necessary  to 
make  the  arrest,  and  any  whom  he  might  call  upon  would 
be  obliged  to  assist. 

191.  Admitting  to  Bail.  — As  soon  after  the   arrest  as 
practicable,  the  prisoner  must  be  taken  before  the  justice 
to  have  the  amount  of  his  bail  bond  fixed.     He  is  always 
entitled  to  bail,  except  in  the  case  of  capital  crimes  where 
the  proof  is  evident  or  the  presumption  great.     Bail  is  the 

127 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


delivery  of  a  man  out  of  custody,  upon  the  undertaking  of 
one  or  more  persons  that  he  shall  appear  at  a  certain  day 
to  stand  trial.  This  undertaking  is  in  the  form  of  a  bond, 
which  must  not  be  excessive ;  for  the  right  to  his  liberty, 
upon  giving  a  reasonable  assurance  that  he  will  obey  the 
orders  of  the  court,  is  a  constitutional  one,  and,  except  in 
rare  instances,  no  man  may  be  deprived  of  it.  The  amount 
of  the  bond  is  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  judges. 

192.  The  Arraignment.  —  Upon   the   day  fixed   in   the 
bail  bond,  or  in  case  no  bond  has  been  given,  as  soon  as 
may  be  after  the  arrest,  the  prisoner  is  brought  before  the 
court,  the  complaint  is  read  to  him,  and  the  justice  asks 
him  if  he  is  guilty  or  not  guilty.     If  the  accused  answers 
"guilty,"  and  the  offence  is  simply  a  misdemeanor,  the 
justice  will  sentence  him  at  once ;  but  if  the  offence  be  a 
greater  one,  the  justice  will  commit  him  to  the  county  jail, 
or  admit  him  to  bail.     But  the  prisoner  may  answer  "not 
guilty,"  or  he  may  stand  mute,  in  which  case  a  plea  of  not 
guilty  will  be  entered  in  his  behalf,  and  the  time  set  for  his 
trial. 

193.  The  Trial.  —  After  the  arraignment,  the  method  of 
conducting  a  civil  and  a  criminal  case   is  essentially  the 
same.     In  the  latter,  however,  the  state  is  represented  by 
its  own  attorney  (295),  and  the  defendant  employs  his  own 
counsel.    In  the  county  court  an  attorney  will  be  appointed 
by  the  judge  to  defend  the  prisoner,  provided  he  is  too  poor 
to  pay  one  himself.     In  some  states  an  attorney  thus  ap- 
pointed by  the  judge  receives  nothing,  but  in  other  states 
he  is  paid  from  the  county  treasury.     If  the  crime  alleged 
to  have  been  committed  is  one  for  which  the  justice  cannot 
impose  a  sentence,  a  jury  is  not  summoned;  but  otherwise 

128 


THE    TOWNSHIP    COURT  — CRIMINAL    SIDE 

it  is.  The  verdict  of  a  jury  in  a  criminal  case  is  always 
"guilty"  or  "not  guilty."  If  there  is  only  a  preliminary 
examination,  the  justice  may  hold  the  prisoner  for  trial  in 
the  county  court,  or  discharge  him.  The  evidence  pro- 
duced against  the  prisoner  at  the  preliminary  trial  is  always 
carefully  written  down,  and  if  the  justice  holds  him,  a  copy 
of  it  will  be  sent  to  the  county  clerk.  In  those  states  em- 
ploying one,  this  evidence  will  be  laid  before  the  grand 
jury  (284),  which  may  or  may  not  find  "a  true  bill"  as  it 
sees  fit. 

194.  The  Sentence.  —  After  conviction  by  a  jury,  or 
where  the  prisoner  has  entered  a  plea  of  "  guilty,"  the 
justice  orders  him  to  rise,  and  asks  him  if  he  knows  of  any 
legal  reason  why  sentence  should  not  be  pronounced  upon 
him.  The  prisoner  is  now  given  an  opportunity  to  answer, 
and  then  the  justice  tells  him  what  his  punishment  will  be. 

This  action  of  the  court  is  called  a  sentence. 

TOPICAL   ANALYSIS 

1.  Criminal  jurisdiction  in  the  justice's  court. 

2.  The  criminal  complaint. 

3.  A  warrant. 

4.  The  arrest. 

5.  Admitting  to  bail. 

6.  The  arraignment. 

7.  The  trial. 

8.  The  sentence. 

QUESTIONS   AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Compare  the  judgment  and  the  sentence. 

2.  When  a  lawyer  is  appointed  by  the  court  to  defend  a  prisoner, 
must  he  do  so  ? 

129 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


3.  Upon  what  theory  can  the  justice  enter  a  plea  of  "  not  guilty  "  for 
a  prisoner  who  stands  mute  ? 

4.  Why  should  the  criminal  law  be  more  simple  than  the  civil  ? 

5.  May  an  officer  kill  hi§  prisoner  to  prevent  escape  ? 

6.  Should  a  lawyer  receive  pay  from  the  county  for  defending  a  pris- 
oner who  is  without  resources  ? 

7.  What  is  an  "  information  "  ? 

8.  What  is  the  advantage  of  both  the  preliminary  examination  and 
the  investigation  by  the  grand  jury  ? 

9.  If  a  prisoner  forfeits  his  bail,  and  the  amount  is  paid,  can  he  after- 
ward be  imprisoned  on  that  charge  ? 

10.  How  can  a  prisoner's  bondsman  protect  himself  ? 

11.  Should  the  jurors  in  a  criminal  case  in  a  justice's  court  receive 
pay? 


130 


XVIII 

A  CIVIL  CASE   IN  A  JUSTICE'S   COURT 


195.  Commencement  of   Suit.  —  On   January  25,   1902, 
'William  Evans  went  to  a  justice  of  the  peace,  in  the  town- 
ship of  Williams,  county  of  Bay,  and  state  of  Michigan, 
and  requested  that  a  summons  be  issued  for  Ezra  Jones, 
which  was  done.      The  writ  commanded  any  constable  of 
the  county  to  summon   Mr.  Jones  to  be  present  at  the 
office  of  J.  P.  Brown,  a  justice  of  the  peace  of  said  town- 
ship, at  ten  o'clock  A.M.,  on  February  3,  1902,  to  answer 
to  the  suit  of  William  Evans.      The  writ  stated  that  the 
cause  of  the  action  arose  upon  promises,  for  the  breach  of 
which  Mr.  Evans  claimed  damages,  $300  or  under.     Mr. 
Brown  made  out  an  exact  duplicate  of  the  summons,  and 
handed  it  to  the  constable,  O.  M.  Stanton.      The  justice 
could  have  appointed  a  private  person  to  act  as  constable. 

196.  Service   and   Return.  —  The   constable   took   both 
papers,  found  Mr.  Jones,  showed  the  original  to  him,  and 
handed  him  the  duplicate.      He  then  returned  to  the  jus- 
tice's office,  and  indorsed  upon  the  original  summons  the 
following  :   "  I  hereby  certify  and  return  that,  on  the  twen- 
ty-fifth day  of   January,   1902,   I  served   the  within   sum- 
mons upon  Ezra  Jones,  personally,  the  defendant  herein 
named,  by  showing  him  the  original,  and  by  delivering  to 
him  a  copy  thereof,    at  the  village    of  Auburn,   in   said 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


county."      To   this   statement   he    signed    his   name    and 
placed  his  fee  at  fifty  cents. 

197.  The  Declaration.  —  Upon  the  day  and  at  the  hour 
stated,  both  Mr.  Jones  and  Mr.  Evans  appeared  at  the 
office  of   Justice  Brown,  and,  the  case  being  called,  Mr. 
Evans  said  his  claim  was  for  some  logs  sold  and  delivered 
to  Mr.  Jones,  of  the  value  of  $75.      This  statement  was 
made  orally,  but  might  have  been  made  in  writing.     This 
action  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Evans  is  variously  called  filing  a 
declaration,  or  a  petition,  or  a  complaint ;    but  no  matter 
what  term  is  used,  it  is  simply  a  statement  of  the  facts 
which  form  the  plaintiff's  cause  of  action. 

198.  The  Adjournment.  —  As    the   defendant   was   not 
ready  to  go  to  trial,  he  asked  for  an  adjournment.     This 
was  granted,  and  the  date  fixed  for  February  7,  1902,  at 
ten  o'clock  A.M.,  the  trial  to  be  held  in  the  same  place. 
There  is  never  any  trouble  in  securing  the  first  adjourn- 
ment ;  but  courts  are  not  made  to  be  trifled  with ;  and,  un- 
less a  very  good  reason  is  assigned,  further  adjournments 
are  not  likely  to  be  granted. 

199.  Joining  Issue.  —  At  the  hour  appointed  both  par- 
ties appeared  personally,  the  plaintiff  being  represented 
by  E.  A.  Baker,  his  attorney,  and  the  defendant  by  attor- 
ney S.  A.  Gray.     Mr.  Gray  now  filed  the  plea  of  "  general 
issue,"  which  was  a  brief  way  of  stating  that  his  client 
owed  Mr.  Evans  nothing.      The  issue  was  now  said  to  be 
joined,  "the  issue"   being  a  statement   affirmed   on  one 
side  and  denied  on  the  other.      The  declaration  and  the 
plea  together  constitute  the  pleadings,  or  a  statement  in 
legal  and  logical  form  of  the  plaintiff's  cause  of  action, 
and  the  defendant's  grounds  of  defence. 

132 


A    CIVIL   CASE    IN   A   JUSTICE'S    COURT 

200.  Striking   a   Jury.  —  Mr.   Gray   now   demanded    a 
jury,    his   client   advancing   the    necessary   fees.     Justice 
Brown  administered  an  oath  to  constable   Stanton,  who 
promised  to  select,  according  to  his  best  judgment,  such 
persons  as  were  competent  to  serve  upon  the   jury,  and 
who  would  decide  without  favor  to  either  party.     The  con- 
stable wrote  down  eighteen  names,  from  which  attorneys 
Baker  and  Gray  alternately  struck  off  six,  leaving  six. 

201.  The  Venire.  —  The   justice   here   issued  a  venire. 
This  is  a  written  command  to  the  constable,  directing  him 
to  summon  the  six  persons  left  upon  the  list  to  appear  at 
his  office,  at  two  o'clock  P.M.  of  that  day,  to  make  a  jury 
for  the  trial  of  an  action  wherein  William  Evans  was  plain- 
tiff and  Ezra  Jones  defendant.     The  word  "venire"  is  for 
facias  venire,  and  means  "cause  to  appear."    There  being 
nothing  further  to  do  at  the  time,  the  court   adjourned 
until  two  o'clock  P.M. 

202.  Selecting  the  Jury.  —  At  two  o'clock  the  court  was 
called  to  order,  and  constable  Stanton  produced  his  venire 
with  the  statement  indorsed  upon  it  that  he,  personally, 
had   notified   each    of   the    persons   named  within   to   be 
present  at  the  place  and  hour  mentioned.      Each  one  of 
those  summoned  answered   "  present "   as  his  name  was 
called ;   but  Mr.  Otis  said  it  would  be  impossible  for  him 
to  remain,  owing  to  sickness  in  his  family,  and  he  was 
excused. 

203.  Talesmen.  —  This  being  a  civil  action,  the  five  re- 
maining jurors  could  have  tried  the  case ;    but  Mr.  Gray 
was  not  satisfied  to  have  less  than  six.      Justice  Brown 
thereupon  directed  the  constable  to  supply  the  deficiency, 
and  Moses  Howe  was  called  to  act  in  the  place  of  Mr. 

133 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


Otis.  Mr.  Howe  was  a  talesman,  because  the  calling  of 
him  was  necessary  to  make  up  a  sufficient  number  to  form 
a  jury.  The  word  "tales"  is  a  Latin  word,  meaning  "suf- 
ficient." 

204.  Examination  of  Jurors.  —  The  six  men  now  took 
their  seats  in  a  body,  when  Mr.  Baker  and  Mr.  Gray  in 
turn  questioned  each  as  to  his  qualifications  to  serve  upon 
a  jury.      The  answers  were  apparently  satisfactory ;    but 
Mr.  Baker  did  not  see  fit  to  accept  Mr.  Bryan,  and  ob- 
jected to  his  sitting.      Justice  Brown  excused  Mr.  Bryan, 
and  a  talesman  was  selected,  who  was  allowed  to  serve. 
You  will  notice  that  no  reason  was  given  for  excusing  Mr. 
Bryan,  and  the  challenge  was,  therefore,  "  peremptory." 
If   a  reason   had   been  assigned,   it  would    have  been   a 
"challenge  for  cause."      Peremptory  challenges  are  not 
always  allowed  in   justice's  courts,   and  their  number  is 
limited  in  any  court. 

205.  Plaintiff's  Statement.  —  After  the   jury  had  been 
sworn  to  render  a  fair  and  impartial  verdict,  Mr.  Baker, 
on  behalf  of  the  plaintiff,  made  the  following  statement. 
He  said  that  one  Charles  Jenks  had  sold  some  logs  to  Mr. 
Jones ;  that  Mr.  Jenks  was  the  agent  for  Mr.  Evans ;  that 
the  logs  belonged  to  Mr.  Evans ;  that  their  value  was  $75  ; 
that  Mr.  Evans,  the  plaintiff,  had  demanded  payment  of 
Mr.  Jones,  which  had  been  refused ;    and  further  said  that 
he  should  ask  the  jury  for  a  verdict  of  $75,  with  costs  of 
suit. 

206.  Defendant's  Statement  —  Mr.  Gray,  on  behalf  of 
the    defendant,   did   not   deny  that    Mr.  Jenks    had    sold 
the  logs  in  question  to  Mr.  Jones  for  $75  ;  but  said  that, 
shortly  after  he  had  bought  them,  Mr.  Frank  Bently  had 

134 


A    CIVIL    CASE    IN    A   JUSTICE'S    COURT 

given  him  an  order  for  the  money,  signed  by  Mr.  Jenks ; 
that  he  had  accepted  it ;  that  he  considered  himself  indebted 
to  Mr.  Bently  to  the  amount  of  the  order.  He  said  that 
his  client  never  knew  that  Mr.  Evans  had  ever  claimed  to 
own  the  logs  until  after  he  had  accepted  the  order  in  favor 
of  Mr.  Bently.  Mr.  Evans,  being  duly  sworn,  testified  sub- 
stantially as  his  attorney  stated  he  would. 

207.  The  Evidence.  —  The  plaintiff  now  introduced  Mr. 
Jenks  as  a  witness,  who,  being  duly  sworn,  said  that  he 
had  cut  the  logs  for  Mr.  Evans,  to  whom  they  belonged. 
He    admitted   that   he   bought   camp    supplies    from   Mr. 
Bently  to  the  amount  of  $75,  and  that  he  had  given  him 
the  order  on  Jones  ;  but  said  that  Mr.  Bently  knew  that 
he  was  working  for  Mr.  Evans,  and  that  he  bought  the 
goods  on  his  own  credit.     When  he  gave  the  order  he 
thought  Mr.  Evans  would  be  willing  to  have  him  do  so, 
and  apply  the  amount  on  his  contract.     Mr.  Jones,  being 
duly  sworn,  justified  the  statements  of  his  counsel. 

208.  Further  Evidence.  —  Mr.  Bently,  being  sworn,  said 
that,  when  he  sold  the  goods  to  Mr.  Jenks,  he  never  had 
the  slightest  suspicion  that   Mr.  Jenks  did  not  own  the 
logs ;  that  Mr.  Jenks  said  he  owned  them  ;  that  the  name 
of  Mr.  Evans  was  never  mentioned ;  and  that  he  had  never 
heard  of  Mr.  Evans  in  the  transaction  until  this  suit  had 
been  commenced.     Mr.  B.  F.  Clark,  being  sworn  as  wit- 
ness, said  that  he  was  present  when  Mr.  Jenks  bought  the 
goods ;  that  he  claimed  to  be  working  on  his  own  account ; 
and  that  the  name  of  Mr.  Evans  was  never  mentioned. 

209.  The  Arguments.  —  The  testimony  being  closed,  Mr. 
Baker  made  his  argument  in  favor  of  the  plaintiff.     He 
contended  that  the  testimony  showed  that  he  never  had 

'35 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


authorized  Mr.  Jenks  to  sell  them ;  and  that  in  doing  so 
Mr.  Jenks  had  acted  beyond  the  scope  of  his  authority; 
that  Mr.  Bently  had  sold  the  goods  at  his  peril;  and  that 
his  client  was  not  responsible  for  Mr.  Jenks's  acts.  He 
therefore  asked  for  a  verdict. 

210.  Concluding  Argument.  —  Mr.  Gray  now  made  his 
argument  for  the  defence.     He  contended  that  Mr.  Bently 
had  sold  the  goods  to  Mr.  Jenks  in  good  faith,  relying 
upon  his  claim  of  ownership ;  that  the  goods  were  camp 
supplies ;  that  plaintiff  must  have  known  that  his  agent 
was  using  the  credit  that  the  logs  would  give  with  which 
to  buy  his  supplies ;  that  he  had  carefully  concealed  his 
principalship  so   long  as  there  were  any  supplies  to  be 
bought ;  and  that  he  had  only  disclosed  it  when  there  was 
something  to  be  gained  and  nothing  to  be  lost.     Mr.  Gray 
said  that  it  was  now  too  late  for  Mr.  Evans  to  claim  the 
logs,  and  asked  the  jury  to  give  a  verdict  for  defendant, 
with  costs. 

211.  The  Verdict  —  The  constable  was  now  sworn  by 
the  justice  to  keep  the  jury  in  some  private  and  conven- 
ient place,  without  meat  or  drink,  unless  otherwise  ordered 
by  him ;  nor  to  allow  any  one  to  communicate  with  them ; 
nor  to  do   so  himself,   unless    otherwise   ordered  by  the 
court ;  and  not,  before  they  had  rendered  a  verdict,  to  let 
any  one  know  the  state  of  their  deliberations.     The  jury 
now  went  into  an  adjoining  room,  where  they  remained  a 
short  time,  after  which  they  returned  to  the  courtroom, 
under   the  charge   of   the   constable.     The  justice  asked 
them  if  they  had  agreed  upon  *a  verdict.     The  foreman 
replied  that  they  had,  and  that  it  was  for  the  defendant. 

212.  The  Judgment. — Justice  Brown  now  entered  in  his 

,36 


A    CIVIL    CASE    IN    A   JUSTICE'S    COURT 

docket  that  the  jury  had  found  for  the  defendant ;  ren- 
dered judgment  against  the  plaintiff  and  in  favor  of  defend- 
ant, and*  taxed  the  costs  against  the  plaintiff,  at  $11.50. 
The  "  docket "  is  a  book  in  which  is  entered  a  brief  record 
of  the  proceedings  in  a  case.  Upon  this  judgment  an 
execution  might  have  been  issued,  had  not  the  plaintiff, 
within  the  time  allowed  by  law,  appealed  the  case  to  a 
higher  court  (349). 

213.  Statutes  of  Limitation.  —  It  is  a  maxim  of  the  law 
that  there  should  be  an  end  of  litigation,  and  therefore  a 
time  is  set  within  which  the  defeated  party  must  bring  his 
appeal.  If  it  were  not  for  some  such  provision  a  person 
would  never  know  when  he  was  through  with  a  lawsuit, 
and  he  could  never  rest  content  in  the  peaceful,  enjoy- 
ment of  his  property,  or  even  of  his  liberty.  The  laws  go 
further  than  this,  and  say  that,  if  one  man  has  a  cause  of 
action  against  another,  he  must  commence  his  suit  within 
a  certain  length  of  time,  or  not  at  all.  In  criminal  matters, 
also,  a  man  must  be  arrested  within  two  years  from  the 
time  the  crime  was  committed,  except  in  the  case  of  capital 
crimes,  or  he  will  not  be  molested  on  that  account.  Laws 
of  this  nature  are  called  "statutes  of  limitation,"  and  are 
found  in  every  civilized  state.  It  is  always  a  statute, 
because  there  were  no  provisions  of  this  kind  in  the  com- 
mon law  (25). 

At  the  common  law  a  debt  was  never  settled  until  it 
was  actually  paid ;  but  now,  by  statute,  if  the  creditor 
does  not  take  timely  action,  the  law  will  consider  the  debt 
discharged  whether  it  is  paid  or  not.  The  number  of 
years  during  which  the  suit  may  be  brought  varies  from 
two  to  six,  according  to  the  state.  An  appeal  from  a  judg- 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


ment,  decree,  or  sentence  of  a  court  must  generally  be 
made  within  sixty  days ;  but,  upon  due  cause  being  shown, 
the  time  may  be  extended.  A  man  may  also  gain  a  title 
to  a  piece  of  land  by  occupying  it  peaceably  twenty  years, 
and  often  for  a  less  period.  If  you  wish  to  know  the 
length  of  the  period  in  your  own  state,  you  must  consult 
the  Revised  Statutes. 

TOPICAL    ANALYSIS 

1.  Evans  vs.  Jones. 

2.  The  summons  issued. 

3.  Service  and  return  of  summons. 

4.  Mr.  Evans  files  his  declaration ;  adjournment. 

5.  Issue  joined  ;  the  pleadings. 

6.  Summoning  the  jury ;  selecting  the  jurors ;  talesmen. 

7.  Testing  the  jurors. 

8.  The  trial :  - 

1 i )  Plaintiffs  statement. 

(2)  Defendant's  statement. 

(3)  Evidence  for  plaintiff. 

(4)  Evidence  for  defendant. 

(5)  Argument  for  plaintiff. 

(6)  Argument  for  defendant. 

9.  Submitting  the  case  to  the  jury. 

10.  The  verdict. 

11.  The  judgment. 

12.  The  appeal. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Visit  a  justice's  court,  and  observe  carefully  the  trial  of  a  case. 

2.  Organize  a  school  court,  and  try  this  case. 

3.  Reproduce  the  arguments  of  each  attorney  both  orally  and  in 
writing. 

138 


A    CIVIL    CASE    IN   A    JUSTICE'S    COURT 

4.  How  much  does  it  cost  to  summon  a  justice's  jury  in  this  state  ? 

5.  What  is  the  life  of  a  justice's  summons? 

6.  Why  are  some  persons  excused  from  taking  an  oath? 

7.  A  pupil  was  severely  reprimanded  by  the  teacher  before  the  school 
for  a  trifling  offence.    The  punishment  seemed  too  harsh  to  the  pupils; 
but  the  teacher  explained  that  it  was  only  one  of  a  large  number  of 
similar  offences.     Draw  up  a  complaint,  and  try  this  case.     In  your 
complaint,  specify  four  distinct  breaches  of  good  discipline. 

For  the  necessary  forms,  see  Appendix. 


139 


Part    III 

The   Village,  City,  and   County 
Government 


CHAPTER  XIX.  Formative  Influences 

CHAPTER  XX.  Villages  and  Cities 

CHAPTER  XXI.  The  County  —  Its  Legislative  Department 

CHAPTER  XXII.  Political  Machinery  —  Caucus  and  Primary 

CHAPTER  XXIII.  Political  Machinery — The  Convention  and 

the  Election 

CHAPTER  XXIV.  Administrative  Officers 

CHAPTER  XXV.  The  County  Courts 

CHAPTER  XXVI.  The  Territories 


XIX 

FORMATIVE  INFLUENCES 


214.  Mental  Habit.  —  The  natural  desire  of  the  normal 
human  being  is  to  be  let  alone.     What  we  have  been  used 
to  all  our  lives  becomes  a  second  nature  or  a  mental  habit 
with  us.     We  are  conservative  by  nature,  clinging  to  the 
old,  and  entering    upon  the  new  and  untried  with  reluc- 
tance.    This  will  account,  in  part  at  least,  for  the  perma- 
nence of  our  laws  and  civil  institutions,  which  in  many 
cases  can  be  traced  back  for  centuries.     There  are,  how- 
ever, certain  forces   in  society  which   constantly  tend  to 
change  existing  conditions  (12). 

215.  Social  Customs. — The  laws  of  a  country  are  in- 
fluenced by  social  conditions.     The  state  of  Maine  has  a 
prohibitory  liquor  law,  in  South  Carolina  liquors  are  sold 
by   state   officers,   while    in    New   York   the   saloons   are' 
licensed.     Duelling  is  permitted  in  Italy;  in  the  United 
States  it  is  a  felony.     In  the  Argentine  Republic  a  lottery 
is  maintained  by  the  government ;  in  most  countries  it  is 
prohibited  by  statute.      The  popular  amusements  of  one 
country  are  often  crimes  in  another. 

216.  Industrial    Conditions. — The    laws  of   a   country 
also   reflect    the   industrial    pursuits    of    the    inhabitants. 
Mineral   rights  are  of    great  importance  in  those  states 
where  mining  is  the  chief  industry ;  while  log  liens  and 

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TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


timber  limits  characterize  the  laws  of  the  lumbering  states. 
There  would  be  little  need  of  a  court  of  admiralty  in 
Kansas ;  you  would  not  expect  to  find  an  irrigation  law  in 
the  statutes  of  Connecticut ;  while  the  laws  for  the  protec- 
tion of  fish  would  never  form  a  prominent  feature  in  the 
legislation  of  Arizona. 

.217.  Great  Inventions.  —  Equally  potent  also  in  forming 
the  institutions  of  a  country  have  been  the  great  inven- 
tions, and  especially  those  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The 
cotton  gin  doubled  the  value  of  slave  labor  of  the  South, 
while  the  steam  engine  made  possible  the  huge  manufac- 
turing plants  of  the  North.  Rapid  transit  by  steam  and 
electricity  have  made  the  villages  and  country  for  miles 
around  only  suburbs  of  the  great  city ;  while  the  telegraph 
and  the  long  distance  telephone  have  bound  in  closest  rela- 
tionship the  remotest  parts  of  the  earth.  The  changes  which 
these  inventions  have  brought  are  reflected  in  the  laws,  the 
mental  habits,  and  the  social  life  of  the  people. 

218.  Religion.  —  The  religious  preferences  of  the  people 
affect  the  laws.     Under  the  strict  rule  of  the  Puritans  no 
one  was  allowed  to  travel,  cook,  make  beds,  sweep  houses, 
cut  hair,  or  shave  on  the  Sabbath  day.     In  other  countries 
an  easier  public  conscienee  allows  the  people,  after  they 
have  attended  church,  to  spend  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath  day 
in  playing  games  and  in  visiting.     Thousands  have  lost 
their  lives  because  they  refused  to  accept  another  man's 
belief  as  their  own ;  to-day,  however,  in  all  civilized  coun- 
tries the  inhabitants  are  accorded  the  full  right  to  worship 
as  they  see  fit. 

219.  There  are  certain  great  charters  which  have  had 
an   immense   influence   in   shaping  our  civil  institutions. 

144 


FORMATIVE    INFLUENCES 


The  first,  and  perhaps  the  greatest  of  these,  is  the  Great 
Charter,  which,  in  1215,  was  wrung  from  King  John  by 
the  barons  of  England,  sword  in  hand.  Its  most  impor- 
tant provision  was  that  "  no  freeman  shall  be  taken,  or 
imprisoned,  or  disseized,  or  outlawed,  or  banished,  or  any 
ways  destroyed,  nor  will  the  king  pass  upon  him,  or  commit 
him  to  prison,  unless  by  the  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  by 
the  law  of  the  land  "  (10).  Although  this  provision  of  the 
Charter  was  often  violated  by  the  rulers  of  England,  the 
right  was  never  surrendered ;  and  upon  this  foundation 
personal  liberty  was  afterward  secured. 

220.  Habeas  Corpus.  —  A  second  bulwark  of  our  liberties 
is  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus.    These  words  mean  "  you  may 
have  the  body,"  the  object  of  the  writ  being  to  afford  speedy 
relief  from  unjust  imprisonment.     From  the  earliest  records 
of  the  English  law  no  freeman  could  be  detained  in  prison 
unless  he  had  been  duly  convicted  upon  a  criminal  charge ; 
or  had  been  found  by  the  court  to  be  owing  a  civil  debt. 
The  right  to  detain  a  person  was  claimed  by  some  of  the 
English  kings,  and  it  was  to  prevent  the  exercise  of  their 
tyranny  that  the  Habeas  Corpus  was  passed  in  1679.     It 
provides  that  a  person  arrested  for  treason  or  felony  may 
be  admitted  to  bail,  if  he  be  not  indicted  at  the  first  term 
after  his  arrest,  and  will  be  discharged  entirely  if  not  tried 
during  the  second  term. 

221.  The   Bill   of  Rights. — Like    Magna  Charta  and 
Habeas  Corpus,  the  Bill  of  Rights  is  looked  upon  as  one 
of  the  great  bulwarks  of  English  liberty.     It  was  passed 
in  the  year  1689,  the  first  of  the  reign  of  William  and 
Mary,  and  its  chief  provisions  have  been  reenacted  in  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  of  the  separate  states  of 

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TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


the  Union,  and  in  those  of  some  foreign  countries.  This 
bill  made  standing  armies  in  times  of  peace,  and  levies  of 
money  without  consent  of  Parliament  unlawful;  guaran- 
teed the  right  of  petition,  the  frequent  assembling  of 
Parliament,  freedom  of  speech  and  of  press,  and  forbade 
interference  with  the  laws  on  the  part  of  the  king. 

222.  The  Declaration  of  Independence.  —  The  great  im- 
portance of  this  instrument  is  given  in  the  words  of  Samuel 
Adams :  "  It  was  the  first  solemn  declaration  by  a  nation 
of  the  only  legitimate  foundation  of  civil  government.     It 
was  the  corner  stone  of  the  new  fabric,  destined  to  cover 
the  surface  of  the  globe.     It  demolished  at  a  stroke  the 
lawfulness  of  all  governments  founded  upon  conquests.    It 
swept  away  all  the  rubbish  of  accumulated  centuries  of 
servitude.     It  announced  in  practical  form  to  the  world 
the  transcendent  truth  of  the  inalienable  sovereignty  of  the 
people.     It  proved  that  the  social  compact  (19)  was  no  fig- 
ment of  imagination,  but  a  real,  solid,  and  sacred  bond  of 
the  social  union." 

223.  The  National  Constitution.  —  After  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  War  it  became  evident  that  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  did    not  confer  sufficient  power  upon  the 
central  government,  but  left  too  much  with  the  individual 
states.     In   1785   Washington   said   that  the   "  illiberality, 
jealousy,  and  local  policy  of  the  states  were  likely  to  sink 
the  new  nation,  in  the  eyes  of  Europe,  into  contempt." 
Accordingly  a  new  system  of  government  was  proposed, 
which  should  act,  not  on  the  states,  but  directly  on  individ- 
uals ;    and  which  should  have  vested  in  it  full  power  to 
carry  its  laws  into  effect.     A  constitutional  convention  was 
called,  in  which  all  of  the  states  were  represented.     After 

146 


FORMATIVE    INFLUENCES 


careful  consideration  the  present  constitution  was  adopted 
in  1787,  and  submitted  to  the  people,  as  the  source  of  all 
sovereignty,  for  ratification. 

224.  Ordinance  of  1787.  —  Second  in  importance  to  the 
Constitution  comes  the  Ordinance  of  1787.     It  provided 
for  the  government  of  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio 
River,  out  of  which  was  formed  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin.     It  prohibited  slavery 
within  the  territory,   provided  that  the  estates  of   those 
dying  without  a  will  should  be  divided  equally  among  the 
children,   and  set  aside    a   certain  portion   of  the  public 
domain  for  the  support  of  the  schools  (42). 

225.  Emancipation  Proclamation.  — Considered  in  all  its 
relations,  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  was  one  of  the 
most  important  documents  ever  issued  by  the  hand  of  man. 
It  derives  its  great  significance  from  the  fact  that  it  over- 
turned the  labor  system  of  the  Southern  states,  and  gave 
the  blessing  of  liberty  to  a  race  that  had  been  held  in  bond- 
age in  this  country  for  nearly  two  and  one-half  centuries. 
By  its  terms  it  freed  only  the  slaves  in  those  states  then  in 
rebellion  against  the  United  States ;  but  what  it  began  was 
afterward  completed  by  the  Thirteenth  Amendment  to  the 
Constitution.    The  Fifteenth  Amendment  raised  the  former 
slaves  to  political  quality  with  their  masters  by  providing 

jthat  the  right  of  a  person  to  vote  should  not  be  denied,  or 
abridged,  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition 
of  servitude. 

226.  Popular  Expressions.  —  In  1688  seven  of  the  Eng- 
lish bishops  were  in  danger  of  their  lives,  having  been 
arrested  by  a  tyrannical  order  of   King  James.     Among 
these   was    Trelawney,    Bishop    of    Cornwall,    who    was 

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respected  and  loved  by  his  parishioners.  All  over  the 
country  the  peasants  chanted  a  ballad  of  which  the  burden 
was  as  follows  :  — 

"  And  shall  Trelawney  die? 

And  shall  Trelawney  die? 

Then  thirty  thousand  Cornish  boys 

Will  know  the  reason  why." 

And  the  miners  from  their  caverns  echoed  the  song  with 
a  variation :  — 

"  Then  twenty  thousand  underground 
Will  know  the  reason  why." 

The  excitement  aroused  appalled  the  ministers,  and  the 
bishops  were  saved.  Of  a  different  nature,  but  equally 
powerful  in  its  effects,  was  the  expression  of  General 
Butler,  calling  the  slaves  "  Contrabands  of  War."  This 
expression  was  made  the  subject  of  a  popular  poem,  was 
sung  in  the  army  and  all  over  the  Northern  states,  and 
a  great  authority  has  said  that  it  was  "worth  an  army 
corps." 

227.  Public  Men.  —  It  has  been  said  that  the  history  of 
any  particular  period  is  but  "  the  lengthened  shadow  of 
some  great  man's  life."  This  remark  is  probably  more 
applicable  to  former  centuries  than  to  the  present  time ; 
but  there  is  some  truth  in  it  yet.  It  is  hard  to  imagine 
what  this  country  would  have  been  without  Washington, 
Webster,  Clay,  or  Lincoln,  or  a  score  of  others  whose 
names  will  readily  suggest  themselves.  The  commentaries 
of  Blackstone  in  England  and  of  Chancellor  Kent  in  this 
country,  the  decisions  of  Marshall  and  Chase,  and  the 
forensic  eloquence  of  Choate  and  Evarts  have  each  con- 
tributed their  fair  share  to  our  progress.  Nor  must  we 

148 


FORMATIVE    INFLUENCES 


overlook  Horace  Greeley,  the  great  journalist,  nor  Phillips, 
nor  Beecher,  the  princes  of  platform  orators. 

228.  Writers  and  Inventors.  —  We  must  not  forget  the 
influence  exerted  by  our  poets,  essayists,  historians,  and 
novelists.  We  could  never  have  been  what  we  are  now 
had  not  Longfellow,  or  Whittier,  or  Lowell,  lived  and  sung. 
Hawthorne,  Irving,  and  Cooper  have  each  enriched  the 
world's  literature,  and  have  added  to  our  enjoyment  and 
improvement.  The  marvellous  progress  in  the  methods  of 
conducting  our  civil  affairs  is  owing  in  no  small  degree 
to  those  great  inventions  which  have  made  the  names  of 
Morse,  Whitney,  Edison,  and  Stephenson  household  words. 
Thousands  of  others,  now  nameless,  have  also  contributed 
to  our  health  and  happiness  by  those  lesser  inventions 
which  are  everywhere  to  be  found  in  daily  use. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  The  permanence  of  our  laws. 

2.  Amusements  vs.  Crime. 

3.  Influence  of  industrial  conditions  upon  laws. 

4.  Great  inventions  as  a  civilizing  influence. 

5.  Influence  of  religion  upon  legislation. 

6.  Magna  Charta. 

7.  The  Habeas  Corpus. 

8.  The  Bill  of  Rights. 

9.  The  Declaration  of  Independence. 

10.  Our  national  Constitution. 

11.  The  Ordinance  of  1787. 

12.  The  Emancipation  Proclamation. 

13.  Popular  expressions. 

14.  Public  men  and  their  work. 

15.  Writers  and  inventors. 

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QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Who  said,  "  Don't  give  up  the  ship  "  ? 

2.  What  popular  amusement  in  Mexico  is  a  crime  in  this  country  ? 

3.  Make  a  list  of  five  great  American  poets  riot  mentioned  in  the  text. 

4.  Which  is  considered  the  greatest  of  Webster's  speeches  ? 

5.  Who  wrote  "The  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic  "  ? 

6.  What  influence  for  good  did  the  Spanish-American  War  have 
upon  this  country  ? 

7.  What  is  meant  by  imperialism  ? 

8.  What  great  work  did  Lord  Macaulay  write  ? 

9.  Select  by  a  class  vote  the  five  greatest  American  statesmen  in 
their  order. 

10.   Make  a  list  of  inventions  which  daily  contribute  to  our  health. 


150 


XX 

VILLAGES  AND  CITIES 


229.  Historical.  —  There  is  a  general  disposition  in  the 
human  race  to  form  centres  of  population.    Various  reasons 
contribute   toward   this  end.     In    an   unsettled   condition 
of  affairs   people  unite  for   mutual    protection   against  a 
common  enemy.     This  will  account  for  the  origin  of  most 
of  the  cities  of  Europe,  and  for  many  of  the  early  colonial 
settlements.     At  the  present  time  no  such  necessity  exists  ; 
but  villages;  nevertheless,  are  constantly  springing  up,  and 
some  of  them  are  being  developed  into  cities.     The  motive 
now  is,  not  mutual  protection  against  an  external  foe,  but 
commercial,  social,  educational,  and  religious  advantages. 

230.  Incorporation.  —  When  for  any  reason  a  particular 
portion  of  the  township  becomes  thickly  settled,  both  public 
policy  and  the  advantage  of  the  inhabitants  require  that 
this  territory  should  be  separated  from  that  adjoining  it, 
and  given  a  more  or  less  independent  form  of  government. 
A  thickly  settled  community  will  find  it  more  desirable,  or 
even  necessary,   to  incur  expenses  which   the   adjoining 
lands  should  not  be  compelled  to  bear.     Nor  will  the  policy 
of  the  law  permit,  except  by  the  direct  act  of  the  legis- 
lature, and  in  some  states  not  even  then,  farming  lands  to 
be  thus  burdened  with  taxes,  the  benefits  of  which  the 
owners  cannot  enjoy.     (Cooley,  Const.  Lim.,  §  $00.) 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


231.  How  Villages  and  Cities  are  Born.  —  Villages  and 
cities  are  usually  incorporated  under  general  statutes,  but 
sometimes  by  special  act  of  the  legislature.     In  most  states 
this  power  has  been  intrusted  by  the  legislature  to  sub- 
ordinate bodies,  as  to  the  board  of  supervisors  in  Michi- 
gan, and  to  the  court  of  quarter  session  in  Pennsylvania. 
Whatever  method  is  pursued,  the  proposition  to  incorporate 
is  generally  submitted  to  the  people.    This  is  not  essential, 
however,  as  the  legislature  may  force  the  inhabitants  to 
incorporate,  if  this  be  deemed  advisable. 

232.  The  Charter.  —  The  charter  is  the  grant  made  by 
the   legislature  to  the  people  inhabiting  certain  territory, 
constituting  them  a  corporation.     A  township,  a  village, 
and  a  city  charter  (86)  differ  from  each  other  only  in  de- 
gree; and  often  some  of  the  township  officers,  especially 
in  the  assessment  and  collection  of  taxes,  exercise  their 
powers  within  the  village. 

233.  General  Principles.  —  It  will  greatly  assist  you  in 
understanding  the  government  of  the  city  and  village  if 
you  will  bear  three   things  in  mind.      First,  the  general 
features  of  the  township  government  are  found  also  in  the 
village  and  city,  in  very  many  cases  the  names  and  duties 
of  the  different  officers  being  identical.     Second,  the  grant 
of  powers  to  the  cities  is  much  more  extensive,  and  includes 
a  greater  variety  of  subjects.     Third,  some  of  the  features 
of  the  state  and  national  governments  are  found  in  the  vil- 
lages and  especially  in  the  larger  cities. 

234.  A  Cooperative  Association.  —  If  you  will  bear  in  mind 
that  any  political  organization  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  also  a 
business  association,  in  which  all  the  citizens  are  partners, 
you  will  be  greatly  assisted  in  your  study  of  city  govern- 

152 


VILLAGES    AND    CITIES 


ments.  When  the  mayor  orders  the  police  to  close  the 
saloons  at  ten  o'clock,  he  is  acting  in  a  purely  political 
capacity;  when  he  signs  an  ordinance  to  provide  for  com- 
mercial lighting,  he  is  merely  an  instrument  for  forcing  the 
minority  of  the  taxpayers  to  embark  in  a  business  enter- 
prise. When  he  vetoes  an  ordinance,  he  performs  a  legis- 
lative act. 

235.  Identical  Features.  —  On  its  political  side,  the  gen- 
eral features  of  the  township,  the  city,  the  county,  and 
even  of  the  state  and  nation  are  identical.     You  will  always 
find  certain  officers  whose  duties  correspond.     There  will 
be  a  chief  executive  in  cities,  called  the  mayor,  who  will 
have  the  general  supervision  of  affairs;  a  clerk,  sometimes 
called  a  secretary  or  recorder,  who  will  have  charge  of  the 
records ;  and  a  treasurer,  to  collect  and  to  pay  out  money 
and  to  account  for  the  same.      In  the  township  a  single 
officer  will,  unaided,  discharge  the  duties  of  his  office;  in  a 
city  each  officer  may  have  several  assistants.    The  resources 
are  also  derived  from  taxes,  and  everywhere,  except  in  the 
nation,  mainly  from  a  direct  tax.      Large  sums  are  also 
collected  in  many  cities  from  licenses  to  carry  on  certain 
kinds  of  business. 

236.  National   Features.  —  In    the    villages    the   repre- 
sentative   form    of    government    becomes    more    marked, 
the  electors  choosing  five  or  six  of  their  number  to  repre- 
sent   them   in    the   village    council.     When    the    village 
develops  into  a  city,  the  territory  is  divided  into  wards  in 
each  of  which  an  alderman  is  elected  to  represent  the  ward 
in  the  city  council.     Often  also  a  supervisor  is  chosen  to 
represent  the  ward  in  the  county  legislature.     Each  ward 
also  has  a  constable.     The  president  of  the  village  or  the 

'53 


TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


mayor  of  the  city,  as  a  rule,  has  a  veto  power,  which  he 
uses  to  prevent  or  delay  the  passage  of  ordinances  which 
he  thinks  will  be  detrimental.  When  the  city  becomes 
very  large,  as  for  example  Boston,  the  council  consists  of 
two  houses. 

237.  Ordinances. —  The  resolutions  of  the  common  coun- 
cil are  called  ordinances.     They  are  not  laws  in  the  proper 
sense  of  the  word,  that  term  being  strictly  applicable  only 
to  enactments  of  the  legislature.     Like  the  resolutions  of 
the  township  board  (95),  they  are  only  of  a  local  applica- 
tion and  are  intended  for  local   benefit.     They  must  be 
authorized   by   the   charter,    be   reasonable,    and    cannot, 
unless  the  charter  authorized  it,  interfere  with  the  laws  of 
the  state.     The  business  interests  of  the  city  are  so  much 
more  extensive  than  those  of  the  township  or  village  that, 
naturally,  the  power  is  given  to  legislate  upon  a  much 
wider  range  of  subjects. 

238.  Subordinate  Boards.  —  As  in  the  township,  so  in 
the  city,  a  large  part  of  the  business  is  intrusted  to  sub- 
ordinate boards,  or  commissions.     The  members  of  these 
commissions  are  usually  nominated  by  the  mayor  and  con- 
firmed by  the  council,  but  sometimes  they  are  chosen  by 
popular  vote.     There  is  a  board  of  health  with  the  same 
general  powers  as  in  a  township.     Besides  this  you  will 
find  commissions  to  which  are  intrusted  the  police  depart- 
ment, the  water  works,  the  parks,  the  streets,  the  public 
library,  the  city  hospitals,  and  other  special  interests  which 
by   reason   of  their  importance  demand  separate  boards. 
The  board  of  education,  independent  or  nearly  so  of  the 
city  government  (102),  has  charge  of  the  schools.     Each 
one  of  these  commissions  intrusts  the  actual  management 


VILLAGES    AND    CITIES 


of  the  department  to  a  chief,  or  superintendent,  who  has  a 
more  or  less  numerous  body  of  assistants  and  employees. 

239.  Village  Courts.  —  It   is  npt  often  that  the  village 
has  any   separate   court,  but   all   offences   arising   under 
ordinances  are  tried  before  a  justice  of  the  peace  of  the 
township.     Generally  some  particular  justice  is  designated, 
as  the  one  who  lives   in  the  village.     A  village  marshal 
acts  as  peace  officer,  and  sometimes  he  has  the  general 
powers  given  to  a  constable. 

240.  City  Courts.  —  In    a  city  there  is  usually  a  court 
established  whose  jurisdiction  is  confined  entirely  to  of- 
fences arising  under  the  ordinances.     Besides  the  police 
courts  there  are  often  found  other  municipal  courts  which 
have   both   civil  and  criminal   jurisdiction,  their  purpose 
being  to  relieve  the  county  courts.     The  policemen  are  the 
peace  officers  of  the  city,  but  they  are  not  permitted  to 
serve  papers  in  a  civil  suit,  as  can  the  constable  or  sheriff. 

241.  Choice  of  Officers.  —  As  in  the  township  so  in  the 
ward,  the  officers  are  elected  by  the  direct  vote  of  the  peo- 
ple.    In  a  city  the  representative  system  is  followed.     At 
the  ward  caucus  (104)  delegates  are  chosen  to  the  city  con- 
vention.    Here  the  mayor,  the  recorder,  the  treasurer,  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  the  comptroller,  the  police  judge,  and 
any  other  elective  officer  is  put  in  nomination.     Generally 
these  officers  serve  two  or  more  years ;  but  their  terms  of 
office   are   so  arranged  that  some  expire  each  year.     An 
annual   election  is  thus  necessary,  which   usually  occurs 
in  the  spring,  to  correspond  with  the  township  election. 
Each  ward  has  one  or  more  polling  places,  called  election 
precincts,  the  vote  in  each  being  forwarded  to  an  election 
commission,  which  canvasses  them  and  announces  the  result. 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


242.  Modern  Tendencies  in  City  Governments. —  No  prob- 
lem in  the  administration  of  public  affairs  presents  greater 
difficulties  than  does  the  government  of  a  great  city.  In 
the  less  thickly  populated  communities  the  evil  elements 
are  kept  under  control  to  a  large  extent  by  a  vigorous 
public  sentiment  (5).  A  thoroughly  bad  man  becomes  less 
dangerous  because  his  wicked  disposition  soon  becomes 
known,  and  people  avoid  him,  for  not  to  do  so  would 
render  them  unpopular.  In  large  cities  there  are  more 
bad  people  and  they  are  bolder;  they  bid  defiance  to 
the  laws  both  secretly  and  openly;  they  even  get  them- 
selves elected  to  the  city  council,  and  make  bad  laws  with 
a  view  to  their  own  profit.  The  committee  system  of  legis- 
lation (341)  is  a  fruitful  source  of  iniquity,  for  it  is  difficult 
to  fix  responsibility.  Very  many  city  charters  give  the 
mayor  little  authority,  but  confer  it  upon  the  council,  where 
it  is  shifted  to  the  committees,  and  no  one  will  admit  any 
responsibility  for  any  abuse  of  power.  New  York,  Chicago, 
Philadelphia,  and  other  large  cities  have  sought  to  remedy 
this  by  giving  the  mayor  almost  unlimited  authority,  and 
then  holding  him  responsible  for  the  proper  use  of  it.  This 
method  is  more  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  a  mon- 
archy ;  but  great  evils  demand  strong  remedies. 

TOPICAL   ANALYSIS 

1.  The  causes  which  produce  cities  and  villages. 

2.  Necessity  for  incorporation. 

3.  Methods  of  incorporation. 

4.  Village  and  city  charters. 

5.  Three  principles  which  underlie  municipal  government. 

6.  The  city  as  a  business  association. 

7.  Points  of  resemblance  in  municipal  organizations. 


VILLAGES   AND    CITIES 


8.  Features  borrowed  from  the  state  and  nation. 

9.  Local  laws. 

10.  Subordinate  boards  and  their  powers. 

11.  City  courts ;  village  courts. 

12.  Choice  of  officers. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1 .  Should  a  city  own  its  electric  lighting  plant  ? 

2.  Should  policemen  be  appointed  by  the  city  council  or  elected  by 
the  people? 

3.  What  is  meant  by  a  boodler  ? 

4.  In  what  way  can  a  good  mayor  advance  the  interests  of  a  city  ? 

5.  What  is  the  principle  of  gregariousness  ? 

6.  Why  should  cities  be  incorporated  under  a  general  law  rather 
than  by  a  special  act  of  the  legislature? 

7.  Procure  a  copy  of  a  city  or  village  charter  and  learn  therefrom 
the  duties  of  the  mayor. 

8.  Should  the  mayor  of  a  city  have  the  power  to  appoint  and  re- 
move officers  without  the  consent  of  the  council? 

9.  What  advantage  is  there  in  having  a  mayor  appointed  by  the 
council  ? 

10.  What  do  you  understand  by  "  fire  limits  "  ? 


157 


XXI 

THE  COUNTY  — ITS  LEGISLATURE 


243.  The  English  County.  —  "The  civil  division  of  the 
territory  of  England,"  says  Blackstone,  "is  into  counties, 
of  these  counties  into  hundreds,  of  these   hundreds   into 
tithings  or  towns.     As  ten   families  of   freeholders  (129) 
make  up  a  town  or  tithing,  so    ten   tithings    compose  a 
superior   division,  called  a  hundred,  as  consisting  of   ten 
times  ten  families.     An  indefinite   number  of  these  hun- 
dreds make  up  a  county  or  shire."     The  head  man  of  the 
shire  was  at  first  styled  an  elderman,  or  alderman ;  after- 
ward the  shire-reeve  or  sheriff   appeared  as  the  special 
representative  of  the  king  (272).     The  hundreds  were  the 
basis  of  the  township. 

244.  The  New  England   County.  —  The   New   England 
County  was  originally  a  number  of  towns  united  for  judicial 
purposes.      The  towns  were  settled  by  church  societies, 
composed  of  people  of  moderate  means,  or  poor,  united  for 
common  defence  against  the  Indians,  deeply  religious,  scru- 
pulously honest,  and  obliged  to  labor  with  their  hands  for 
their  daily  bread.     The  life  of  the  community  was  in  the 
town  and  in  its  religious  organizations.     In  New  England 
the  county  is  still  of  small  consequence,  it  being  a  judicial 
district,  and  a  highway  district,  and  little  more. 

158 


THE    COUNTY  — ITS   LEGISLATURE 

245.  The  Southern  County.  —  In  the  Southern  colonies 
the  county  was  the  pplitical  unit  (77).    The  early  emigrants 
were  content  with  the  formalities  of  the  English  church ; 
large  plantations  instead  of  small  farms  were  the  rule,  and 
a  numerous  body  of  slaves  took  the  place  of  the  sturdy 
yeomanry  of  New  England.    The  long  distances  which  the 
great  majority  had  to  travel  to  reach  the  county  seat,  to- 
gether with  the  expensiveness  and   difficulty  of  the  trip, 
made  it  impracticable  for  the  smaller  planters  to  attend  the 
county  meetings.    Thus  the  government  assumed  the  form 
of  an  aristocracy  instead  of  a  democracy,  as  in  the  North. 

246.  The  Compromise  County.  —  The  tendency  of  peo- 
ple to  carry  their  local  ideas  with  them  (214)  caused  the 
counties  in  the  newer  states  to  assume  a  form  which  was 
a  compromise  between  the   Northern   and  the   Southern 
systems.     In  Ohio  the  county  overshadows  the  township ; 
while  in  Michigan  the  counties,  though  important,  do  not 
interfere  to  any  great  extent  in  merely  local  affairs.     A 
study  of  the  compromise  county  as  found   in   Michigan 
will  enable  any  one  to    learn  readily  by  comparison  the 
essential  features  as  found  in  other  states. 

247.  Definition  of  a  County A  county  is  a  political 

division  of  a  state,  consisting  of  several  townships  united 
to  assist  in  local  government,  and  for  judicial  purposes. 
It  is  a  public  corporation  (76),  and  as  such  can  bring  suit ; 
but  it  has  no  common  law  powers  (24),  and  can  be  sued 
only  where  the  statute  permits.     It  can  purchase  and  hold 
real  estate  for  the  use  of  the  county,  borrow  money,  and 
do  all  other  acts  in  relation  to  the  property  and  concerns 
of  the  county,  where  the  power  is  directly  given,  or  may 
fairly  be  inferred  from  the  statute. 

'59 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


248.  Size  and  Boundaries.  —  Counties   vary   greatly  in 
size,  being  larger  in  the  Southern  and  Western  states  than 
in  the  Northern  and   Eastern.     Rhode  Island  with   1085 
square  miles  has  five  counties ;  while  South  Carolina  with 
3400  square  miles  has  thirty-three.     In    Michigan   every 
county  must  have  at  least  sixteen  townships ;  but  any  city 
having  a  population  of  20,000  may  be  organized  into  a 
county.     In  the  new  states  the  boundaries  are  regular,  fol- 
lowing the  lines  of  survey ;  but  in  the  original  states  they 
are  irregular,  being  composed  of  towns  which  often  have 
natural  boundaries  (75). 

249.  The  County  Seat.  — The  place  where  the  official 
business  of  the  county  is  transacted  is  called  the  county 
seat.     Here  the  county  courts  hold  their   sessions;   here 
the  public  buildings  are  located,  and  here  certain  of  the 
county  officers  are  required  to  reside,  and  to  keep  their 
offices  open  for  the  accommodation  of  the  public.     As  the 
majority  of  those  who  have  business  to  transact  are  obliged 
to  visit  the  county  seat,  its  location  is  of  considerable  im- 
portance to  property  owners.     In  the  first  instance  its  site 
is  usually  determined  by  the  legislature ;  but  it  can  be  re- 
moved only  by  a  vote  of  the  people,  when  the  question 
of  removal  has  been  properly  submitted  to  them. 

250.  The  Board  of  Supervisors.  —  In  some  of  the  states 
the  county  legislature  consists  of  representatives  from  vari- 
ous localities,  and  with   limited  powers  ;  in  others,  legis- 
lative authority  is  intrusted  to  a  board  of  from  three  to 
seven  members,  elected  from  the  body  of  the  county.      In 
most  states,  perhaps,  the  county  legislature  has  the  official 
title  of  board  of  supervisors ;  in  some,  of  board  of  county 
commissioners ;    and  in  a  few,   of   court  pf  quarter  ses- 

160 


THE    COUNTY  — ITS    LEGISLATURE 

sions.  In  Michigan  and  Illinois  the  board  of  supervisors 
consists  of  one  member  from  each  township,  who  is  thus 
both  a  township  and  a  county  officer.  The  cities  are  also 
entitled  to  representation  upon  the  board.  There  is  an 
annual  meeting  of  the  board,  and  such  special  meetings 
as  may  be  found  necessary;  but  the  number  of  days  for 
which  each  supervisor  can  draw  pay  for  services  rendered 
the  county  is  limited  by  law.  In  states  having  the  county 
system  the  supervisors  are  usually  paid  a  salary,  and  an 
allowance  is  made  for  travelling  expenses. 

251.  The  Judicial  Powers  of  the  Board.  —  The  board  of 
supervisors  is  authorized  to  sell,  purchase,  and  lease  real 
estate,  and  to  erect  buildings  thereon ;  to  raise  by  tax,  or 
by  loan,  money  for  county  purposes,  and  to  provide  for 
the  payment  of   the    same ;    to    fix   the  compensation  of 
county  officers,  and  to   determine  the  value  of   any  ser- 
vices  that  may  have   been  rendered    the    county,   which 
determination  is   final.      This   board   also  provides   jails, 
courthouses,  and  all  necessary  public  buildings,  and  keeps 
the  same  in  repair.     It  also  equalizes  the  valuation  of  the 
townships  and  cities  as  fixed  by  the  assessing  officers  and 
boards  of  review. 

252.  The  County  Charter.  — The  act  in  accordance  with 
which  the  county  was  organized,  and  the  provisions  of  the 
general  laws  as  modified  by  court  decisions  (86),  constitute 
the   charter  of   the    county.     The   county  government  is 
considered  a  part  of  the  state  government,  and  a  county 
debt  created  by  authority  of  the  law  is  regarded  for  the 
purposes  of  collection  as  a  part  of  the  state  debt.     In  the 
same  manner  as  there  is  no  remedy  against  the  state,  so 
there  may  be  none  against  the  county.     The  state  cannot 

161 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


be  sued  except  by  its  own  consent ;  nor  can  the  county  be 
sued  unless  the  state  permits  it.  In  such  a  case  the  cred- 
itors of  a  county  have  nothing  to  rely  upon  except  the 
good  faith  of  the  county. 

253.  Subordinate  Boards.  —  In  addition  to  the  board 
of  supervisors  there  are  various  boards,  or  commissions,  in 
the  county  which  receive  their  power  directly  from  the 
legislature,  but  which  are  made  mqre  or  less  subordinate 
to  the  principal  board.  Such  are  the  poor  commission, 
the  board  of  auditors,  where  one  is  found,  bridge  commis- 
sions, jury  commissions,  and  the  like.  In  the  New  Eng- 
land, and  in  many  of  the  compromise  counties,  the  care  of 
the  ordinary  roads  and  bridges,  of  the  health,  and  some- 
times even  of  the  poor,  is  left  to  the  township. 

TOPICAL   ANALYSIS 

1.  Composition  of  the  English  county. 

2.  The  nature  of  the  New  England  county. 

3.  The  aristocratical  nature  of  the  Southern  county. 

4.  The  compromise  county. 

5.  Definition  of  a  county. 

6.  Size  and  boundaries  of  counties  in  different  states. 

7.  Location  and  removal  of  the  county  seat. 

8.  The  county  legislature. 

9.  Judicial  powers  ot  the  board  of  supervisors. 

10.  The  county  charter. 

11.  Duties  of  subordinate  boards. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  From  the  statutes  of  this  state  make  a  list  of  the  judicial  powers 
of  the  chief  legislative  body  in  the  county. 

2.  Give  some  reasons  why  a  tax  should  be  levied  to  build  substan- 
tial and  even  elegant  county  buildings. 

162 


THE    COUNTY  — ITS    LEGISLATURE 

3.  Write  a  resolution  to  be  submitted  to  the  board  of  supervisors  for 
the  removal  of  the  county  seat. 

4.  Prepare  the  ballots  for  levying  a  tax  to  build  a  bridge. 

5.  How  many  supervisors  are  there  in  this  county  ? 

6.  What  advantages  would  a  board  of  three  supervisors  have  over 
a  board  of  thirty  ? 

7.  How  many  square  miles  are  there  in  this  county  ? 

8.  How  many  counties  are  there  in  this  state  ? 

9.  Can  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors  make  a  lawful  contract 
with  the  county  for  supplies  ? 

10.   Debate  the  following  question :  — 

"  Resolved  that  the  county  legislature  should  consist  of  representa- 
tives elected  from  townships." 


163 


XXII 

POLITICAL   MACHINERY  — CAUCUS   AND    PRIMARY 


254.  Political  Parties.  —  A  political  party  may  be  de- 
fined as  a  combination  of  electors,  holding  similar  political 
views,  and  organized  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  the 
policy  of  the  government.  People  vary  in  their  opinions 
as  to  the  best  methods  of  conducting  public  affairs,  and 
perhaps  no  two  persons  who  think  independently  will 
agree  perfectly  upon  any  one  course.  As  it  is  impossible 
for  every  man  to  have  his  own  way  in  all  respects,  each 
modifies  his  views  a  little  to  suit  those  of  another,  and 
finally  a  large  number  are  able  to  stand  together. 

When  such  an  agreement  has  been  reached  it  is  gen- 
erally reduced  to  writing,  and  is  called  a  "  platform." 
This  platform  is  a  statement  of  the  course  which  a  polit- 
ical party  promises  to  pursue  in  administering  the  affairs 
of  the  government.  Each  subject  touched  upon  in  the 
platform  is  called  a  "  plank."  The  number  of  political 
parties  which  can  be  formed  is  unlimited ;  but  usually 
there  are  four  or  five.  For  years  there  have  been  in  this 
country  two  great  political  parties,  the  Republican  and  the 
Democratic,  and  the  great  mass  of  voters  have  belonged 
to  one  or  the  other  of  them. 


POLITICAL    MACHINERY 


255.  The  County  Committee. — The  interests   of   each 
political    party   in   the    county    are    looked   after   by   the 
county  committee.     This  consists  of  one  or  more  members 
from  each  township,  and  from  each  ward  in  the  cities,  the 
number  being  determined  and  the  members  elected  by  the 
county  convention.      Its  officers  are  a  chairman,  a  secre- 
tary, and  a  treasurer.      It  is  the  duty  of  this  committee  to 
keep  well  informed  as  to  the  party  strength  in  the  county, 
to  ascertain  the  policy  to  be  pursued  as  mapped  out  by 
the  party  leaders  in  the  state  and  in  the  nation,  to  fix 
upon  the  place  and  the  date  for  holding  any  county  con- 
vention, to  collect  and  disburse  funds  for  defraying  the  ex- 
penses of  the  campaign,  to  procure  and  give  out  political 
literature,  and  to  assign  dates,  places,  and  secure  speak- 
ers for  the  holding  of  political  meetings.      During  the  po- 
litical campaign  the  county  committee  always  establishes 
its  headquarters  at  the  county  seat,  where  any  member  of 
the  party  is  welcome,  and  where  the  returns  are  sent  from 
each  precinct  on  the  night  of  the  election.     The  organiza- 
tion is  so  complete  that,  except  when  the  vote  is  very 
close,  each  candidate  for  a  county  office  knows  his  fate  on 
the  morning  following  the  election. 

256.  Township  and  Ward  Politics. — In  the  nomination 
and  election  of  its  officers  the  county  makes  use,  as  far  as 
possible,  of  the  machinery  of  the  township.      By  virtue  of 
his  office  the  member  of  the  county  committee  is  usually 
considered  as  the  party  leader  in  the  township  or  ward. 
It  is  his  duty  to  become  informed  as  to  the  party  strength 
in  the  township  or  ward ;  and  to  accomplish  this  he  should 
himself  know,  or  have  the  means  of  ascertaining,  the  polit- 
ical preferences  of  every  voter.     When  there  is  but  one 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


precinct  in  his  district,  this  work  of  gathering  information 
can  be  done  by  one  person ;  but  sometimes  there  are  a 
large  number  of  precincts,  with  several  thousand  voters, 
and  then  the  leader  must  have  a  well-trained  body  of 
subordinates  to  assist.  The  township  member  also  calls 
caucuses  and  primaries  for  the  selection  of  delegates  to 
the  county  convention,  makes  the  local  arrangements  for 
political  meetings,  sees  that  the  political  literature  sent  out 
by  the  county  committee  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
individual  voters,  distributes  the  money  sent  him  by  the 
county  committee  where  it  will  do  the  most  good,  sends  in 
the  returns  on  the  night  of  election,  and  attends  the  meet- 
ings of  the  county  committee. 

257.  A  Political  Caucus.  —  A  caucus  was  originally  a 
conference  between  the  members  of  a  party,  either  to  de- 
cide upon  measures  to  be  adopted,  or  to  select  candidates 
for  offices  to  be  filled  (104).  An  excellent  illustration  of 
the  first  kind  may  be  found  in  the  Boston  caucus  which 
decided  that  the  British  must  rule  both  regiments  or  none. 
When  the  chief  purpose  is  to  select  candidates  for  offices, 
it  may  be  called  a  political  caucus.  The  word  "  caucus  "  is 
said  by  some  authorities  to  have  been  derived  from  the 
name  of  a  Mr.  Calkins,  who  kept  a  corner  grocery  in 
Boston  where  such  meetings  were  held.  Others  derive  it 
from  the  Caulkers'  Union,  an  organization  which  was  very 
successful  in  electing  its  candidates.  The  proceedings  of 
a  political  caucus  are  always  very  informal.  A  chairman 
and  a  secretary  are  appointed,  a  ballot-box  is  provided, 
tellers  are  selected  to  receive  and  count  the  ballots,  and 
the  results  are  announced  by  the  chairman  and  recorded 
by  the  secretary. 

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POLITICAL    MACHINERY 


258.  Political    Clubs.  —  A   natural    outgrowth    of    the 
county  committee  and  the  caucus  system  is  the  political 
club.     For  a  party  to  succeed  in  an  election,  its  organiza- 
tion must  be  kept  up  during  the  whole  year.     In  the  town- 
ships,   villages,    and    cities   of    moderate    size,    occasional 
meetings    of   the   committee  will   do    until   a   few  weeks 
before  the  election,  when  they  must  be  more  frequent; 
but  in  the  larger  cities  this   is  not  sufficient,  and  each 
of  them   has   one  or  more   political  clubs,   the  influence 
of  which  is  a  determining  factor  in  all  elections.     If  the 
primary  purpose  of  the  club  were  to  educate  the  voters  in 
the  principles  of  the  party,  the  organization  would  be  a 
valuable  one ;    but  while  this  is  no  doubt  accomplished  to 
a  certain  extent,  the  main  purpose  is  to  secure  possession 
of  the  offices  for  the  sake  of  profit,  which  is  quite  another 
thing.     The  members  of  the  club  are  too  often  bound  to- 
gether, not  by  a  sentiment  of  patriotism,  but  by  a  desire 
for  gain ;    and,  through  the  influence  of  this  spirit,  politics 
descends  from  a  noble  profession  to  a  disreputable  trade. 
The  officers  who  compose  this  club  are  sometimes  called  a 
"  ring,"  and  the  chief  officer  a  "  boss." 

259.  The  Primary.  —  A  primary  is  a  meeting  held  by  a 
political  party  in  each  precinct,  the  simplest  political  divi- 
sion, for  the  nomination  of  officers  or  delegates.     There  is 
a  distinction  between  a  caucus  and  a  primary,  and  when 
both  are  used  the  former  is  held  to  prepare  a  list  of  names 
to  be  submitted  at  the  primary,  from  which  either  the  offi- 
cers or  the  delegates  are  to  be  chosen.     This  list  is  com- 
monly called  a   "  slate."     Often,   however,   no   caucus   is 
held,  and  two  or  more  slates  are  prepared,  by  individuals. 
It  is  generally  the  case  that  those  whose  names  are  upon 

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an  individual  slate  are  pledged  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of 
the  slatemaker. 

260.  Holding  a  Primary.  —  Sometimes   the  method  of 
organizing   and   conducting   a   primary   is  carefully    pre- 
scribed by  laws  of  the  state.     When,  however,  the  law  is 
silent  upon  the  subject,  the  method  may  be  somewhat  as 
follows :  the  primary  is  called  to  order  by  the  township 
or  precinct  committeeman,  or  by  the  chairman  of  this  com- 
mittee, if  there  be  more  than  one  member,  who  states  the 
purpose  of  the  meeting.     The  chairman,  a  secretary,  .and, 
if  the  vote  is  to  be  by  ballot,  two  tellers,  are  usually  ap- 
pointed by  the  voters. 

The  ballots  are  now  distributed,  the  voters  mark  their 
preferences,  and  the  tellers  collect  and  count  the  ballots. 
Instead  of  using  printed  ballots,  the  vote  may  be  taken 
viva  voce,  by  a  show  of  hands,  or  by  a  division  of  the 
house.  Whatever  method  may  be  used,  the  secretary 
announces  the  results,  and  the  chairman  declares  the  one 
having  the  highest  number  to  have  been  chosen.  If  the 
purpose  of  the  primary  be  to  nominate  township  officers, 
the  vote  for  each  is  taken  separately ;  but  if  it  be  to  choose 
delegates  to  a  county  convention,  usually  all  are  voted  for 
at  the  same  time.  The  secretary  now  writes  out  a  clear 
statement  of  the  results  of  the  primary,  which  he  signs,  as 
does  also  the  chairman.  If  an  election  is  to  be  held,  this 
statement  is  given  to  the  proper  officers,  and  the  names 
are  placed  upon  the  official  ballots.  If  delegates  are 
chosen  to  the  county  convention,  this  statement  is  given 
to  the  chairman  of  the  delegation,  and  constitutes  the 
credentials. 

261.  Ratio  of  Representation.  —  Several  days  before  any 

168 


POLITICAL    MACHINERY 


county  convention,  the  committee  is  called  together  by  its 
officers,  and  a  date  is  set  for  the  holding  of  the  convention. 
Before  this  date  arrives,  a  caucus,  or  a  primary,  or  both, 
is  called  in  each  ward  and  in  each  township  for  the  nomi- 
nation of  delegates  to  the  county  convention.  The  num- 
ber of  delegates  to  which  each  ward  and  township  is 
entitled  is  found  by  dividing  the  whole  party  vote  for  gov- 
ernor at  the  last  election  by  a  certain  number,  say  thirty, 
as  determined  by  the  county  committee.  This  number  is 
called  the  ratio  of  representation.  An  additional  delegate 
is  given  when  the  number  left  after  dividing  is  greater 
than  one-half  of  the  ratio,  and  every  township  or  ward  is 
entitled  to  at  least  one  delegate. 

262.  Delegates.  —  A   delegate    may   be   defined    as   an 
agent  chosen  by  a  certain  number  of  voters  to  represent 
them  at  a  convention.     Just  as  an  agent's  power  is  lim- 
ited by  the  instructions  of  his  principal,  so  the  voters  who 
select  the  delegates  may  limit  their  powers  by  passing 
proper  resolutions.     If  this  be  not  done,   each   delegate 
may  exercise  his  own  judgment  and  vote  as  he  pleases. 
Quite  often,  however,  all  the  delegates  from  a  particular 
township  or  ward  will  vote  as  a  unit,  as  this  course  will 
give  the  delegation  more  influence.     For  the  nomination 
of  township  or  precinct  officers,  the  primary  is  the  only 
meeting   necessary;    but   all   the  elective  officers  of   the 
county  are  nominated  in  the  convention. 

263.  Alternates  and  Proxies.  —  It  often  happens  that 
one  or  more  of  the  delegates  selected  does  not  care  to  go 
to  the  county  convention,  and  some  one  else  fills  his  place. 
This  substitute  is  called  a  proxy.     Sometimes  each  dele- 
gate is  allowed  to  appoint  his  own  proxy,  but  more  often 

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proxies  are  chosen  by  the  delegation.  Occasionally,  two 
sets  of  delegates  are  selected,  the  second  being  called 
alternates,  to  serve  in  case  any  of  the  principal  delegates 
are  absent. 

TOPICAL   ANALYSIS 

1.  A  political  party  ;  a  platform  ;  a  plank. 

2.  Composition  and  organization  of  the  county  committee. 

3.  Township  and  ward  politics. 

4.  A  political  caucus  ;  derivation  of  the  term. 

5.  Political  clubs  ;  Tammany. 

6.  Definition  of  a  primary ;  a  slate. 

7.  Holding  a  primary. 

8.  Ratio  of  representation. 

9.  Delegates. 

10.    Proxies  and  alternates. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  In  New  England  the  merits  of  candidates  are  discussed  in  open 
caucus.    Is  the  rule  a  good  one  ? 

2.  Should  delegates  be  instructed  to  vote  as  a  unit  ? 

3.  Ought  a  voter  who  has  attended  a  caucus  always  to  be  bound  by 
its  action  ? 

4.  What  is  "  repeating  "  ? 

5.  Look  up  the  derivation  of  the  word  "  Tammany." 

6.  What  is  a  "  packed  "  caucus  ? 

7.  Explain  the  term  "  ward  heeler." 

8.  Attend  a  caucus  and  see  how  the  method  of  conducting  it  differs 
from  that  described  in  the  text. 

9.  Why  not  vote  for  candidates  at  the  primary  and  dispense  with 
the  convention  ? 

10.  Debate  the  following :  — 

"Resolved  that  the  convention    system  of    nominating  candidates 
should  be  confined  to  state  and  national  officers." 


170 


XXIII 


POLITICAL  MACHINERY  — CONVENTION  AND 
ELECTION 


264.  The   Convention.  —  At    the    time    and    place    ap- 
pointed, the  chairman  of  the  county  committee  calls  the 
convention    to    order,   states   the    purpose,   and   asks   the 
further  pleasure  of  the  meeting.     Sometimes  the  county 
committee  selects  the  temporary  chairman  and  secretary ; 
but  often  the  convention  chooses  even  the  temporary  offi- 
cers.    The  next  step  is  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
upon  organization  and  order  of  business,  a  second  on  cre- 
dentials, and  a  third  on  resolutions.     Sometimes  the  com- 
mittees are  appointed  by  the  chairman,  and  sometimes  by 
a  vote  of  the  delegates,  the  number  being  determined  by 
the  convention. 

A  short  recess  is  now  taken  to  enable  the  committees 
to  make  up  their  reports.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the 
convention  does  not  wish  to  take  a  recess,  but  will  fill  in 
the  time  by  listening  to  speeches.  This  affords  a  really 
fine  opportunity  for  a  good  orator  to  make  his  mark.  His 
audience  is  sympathetic,  the  topic  is  of  his  own  selection, 
and  if  he  handles  it  skilfully,  it  will  make  him  popular  with 
his  party  and  pave  the  way  for  future  favors. 

265.  Committee  Reports.  —  After  the  appointment  of  the 
committees  they  will  usually  retire  to  separate  rooms  to 

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prepare  their  reports.  The  chairmen  of  the  several  town- 
ship, ward,  or  precinct  committees  will  now  hand  their 
credentials  to  the  credential  committee  for  inspection.  If 
they  be  regular  on  their  face,  and  there  be  no  contest,  the 
list  of  delegates  upon  each  set  will  be  accepted.  There 
may,  however,  be  a  contesting  delegation,  in  which  case 
the  committee  will  recommend  the  acceptance  of  the  list 
which  seems  best  entitled  to  it. 

The  committee  upon  organization  and  order  of  business 
will  recommend  a  plan  for  conducting  a  convention  sub- 
stantially as  follows :  — 

1.  That  the  temporary  officers  be  made  permanent. 

2.  That  the  report  of  the  committee  upon  credentials  be  next 
considered. 

3.  That  the  convention  shall  then  proceed  to  vote  for  the  nomi- 
nation of  candidates  for  the  various  offices,  prescribing  the  order. 
If  it  be  a  delegate  convention,  then  the  recommendation  will  be 
to  vote  upon  the  list  of  delegates. 

4.  Report  of  the  committee  upon  resolutions. 

5.  Appointment  of  new  county  committee. 

6.  Adjournment. 

266.  Real  Work  of  the  Convention.  —  When  the  com- 
mittees are  ready  to  report,  the  chairman  calls  the  con- 
vention to  order,  and  the  report  of  the  committee  upon 
organization  and  order  of  business  is  heard  and  acted 
upon.  It  is  generally  accepted,  but,  like  any  other  report, 
may  be  amended.  The  chairman  now  thanks  the  conven- 
tion for  the  honor  conferred  upon  him,  and  the  business  is 
then  transacted  according  to  the  plan  laid  down  by  the 
committee.  The  body  of  rules  which  guide  the  chairman 
in  presiding  over  the  convention  is  called  "  Parliamentary 

172 


POLITICAL    MACHINERY 


Law."  These  rules  had  their  origin  in  the  British  House 
of  Commons,  or  Parliament,  hence  their  name.  They  are 
essentially  the  same  for  all  deliberative  assemblies,  and  a 
good  knowledge  of,  and  some  practice  in,  applying  them  is 
essential  to  make  a  successful  presiding  officer. 

267.  Nominations  by  Petition.  —  A  little  experience  in 
the  actual  workings  of  the  caucus  and  convention  systems 
of  nominating  officers  will  convince  one  that  there  are 
serious  objections  to  it.     It  requires  the  expenditure  of  a 
large  amount  of  time  on  the  part  of  the  delegates  and 
members  of  the  committee,  involves  an  outlay  of  consider- 
able money,  and,  worse  than  all,  offers  an  opportunity  for 
the  use  of  unfair  means  to  accomplish   selfish  purposes. 
To  avoid  these  evils  several  methods  have  been  tried,  that 
by  petition  or  "  nomination  papers "  being,  perhaps,  the 
most  satisfactory.     This  method  provides  that  a  candidate 
may  be  put  in  nomination  by  filing  with  the  proper  officer 
a  petition  to  that  effect,  signed  by  a  specified  number  of 
qualified  voters.     This  number  varies  in  different  states. 
In  Iowa  there  must  be  at  least  five  hundred  for  a  state 
office,  twenty-five  for  a  county,  district,  or  other  division 
less  than  a  state,  and  ten  in  a  city,  town,  precinct,  or  ward. 
The  nomination  papers  must  be  filed  with  the  same  officers 
as  in  the  case  of  certificates  from  caucuses,  primaries,  or 
conventions.      The  minimum  time  limit  for  filing  in  the 
different  states  is  from  three  to  thirty-five  days,  and  the 
maximum  from  forty  to  one  hundred  days,  sixty  days  being 
the  most  common. 

268.  The  Campaign.  —  After  the  nominations  are  made, 
each  party  puts  forth  every  effort  deemed  necessary  to 
secure  the  election  of  its  candidates.     At  the  fall  elections, 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


which  in  most  states  are  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  after 
the  first  Monday  in  November,  there  is  usually  much  more 
activity  than  when  the  election  is  held  in  the  spring.  This 
is  especially  true  every  four  years,  when  both  national  and 
state  elections  are  held  at  the  same  time.  In  addition  to 
what  the  county  committee  may  do,  each  candidate  is  sup- 
posed to  look  out  for  his  own  interest,  and  the  newspapers 
take  a  very  active  part.  All  this  costs  money,  which  is 
secured  by  an  assessment  upon  each  candidate  and  by 
voluntary  contributions. 

269.  The  Election.  —  Upon  such  a  day  as  the  laws  of 
the  state  direct  the  election  is  held  in  each  township  and 
ward  precisely  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  case  of  the 
township  election  (104-113).     Within  a  certain  number  of 
days  after  the  election  has  been  held  the  township  clerk, 
or  some  other  officer  designated  by  law,  must  file  with  the 
county  clerk  the  returns  for  his  township  or  ward. 

270.  Canvass  of  Votes.  —  At  a  time  specified  by  law  the 
county  board  of  canvassers  meets  at  the  county  seat,  in- 
spects the  returns,  enters  the  results  in  the  records,  and 
issues  a  certificate  of  election  to  the  successful  candidate. 
If  there  be  no  contest,  the  work  of  the  board  of  canvassers 
is  merely  clerical.     But  where  the  results  are  close,  the 
candidate  who,  upon  the  face  of  the  returns,  is  defeated 
often  demands  a  recount.     The  ballots  are  then  sent  for 
and  brought  from  all  the  election  precincts,  and  each  set 
is  carefully  inspected  to  see  that  no  error  has  been  made. 
The  decision  of  the  board  of  canvassers  may  be  appealed 
from,  and  sometimes  the  question  is  not  settled  until  the 
highest    court   in   the   state   has    passed   judgment   upon 
it.     The  board  of  canvassers  is  variously  constituted.     In 

174 


POLITICAL    MACHINERY 


Michigan  it  consists  of  three  members  appointed  by  the 
board  of  supervisors. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Calling   the   convention   to   order;    appointment   of  com- 
mittees. 

2.  Reports  of  committees. 

3.  Real  work  of  the  convention;  Parliamentary  Law. 

4.  Nomination  papers. 

5.  The  campaign. 

6.  The  election. 

7.  Canvass  of  votes. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Organize  your  class  into  three  or  more  wards,  townships,  or  pre- 
cincts, and  hold  a  primary  in  each  (a)  for  the  purpose  of  nominating 
local  officers,  (6)  to  send  delegates  to  a  county  convention. 

2.  Combine  these  sets  of  delegates  into  a  county  convention  and 
hold  it. 

3.  Elect  delegates  to  a  state  convention  with  three  or  more  counties 
represented. 

4.  Elect  delegates  to  a  national  convention  with  three  or  more  states 
represented. 

5.  Give  the  name  of  a  member  of  the  county  committee  of  either 
party. 

6.  Who  is  the  chairman  of  the  state  central  committee  of  any  party  ? 

7.  Why  is  it  dishonorable  to  vote  at  a  primary  if  you  do  not  belong 
to  the  party  holding  it  ? 

8.  What  great  party  has  a  two-thirds  rule  in  its  national  conven- 
tion? 

9.  To  how  many  delegates  in  the  national  Republican  convention 
is  this  state  entitled  ?    How  many  in  the  Democratic  ? 


175 


XXIV 

ADMINISTRATIVE  OFFICERS 


271.  Kinds  of  Officers.  —  An  office  has  been  defined  as 
a  special  charge  or  trust  created  by  competent  authority. 
An  officer  is  distinguished  from  an  employee  in  the  greater 
importance,  dignity,  and  independence  of  his  position,  in 
being  required  to  take  an  oath  and  perhaps  to  file  a  bond, 
and  in  the  tenure  of  his  position.     A  constitutional  office 
is  one  provided  for  by  the  constitution  of  the  state  or 
nation.     A  ministerial  officer  has  a  line  of  conduct  marked 
out  for  him,  and  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  follow  it.     A 
public  office  is  an  agency  of  the  state,  and  a  public  officer 
is  one  whose  duty  it  is  to  perform  that  agency.     Execu- 
tive or  administrative  officers  are  those  whose  duties  are 
merely  to  execute  the  laws. 

272.  The  Sheriff.  —  At  the  head  of  the  administrative 
officers  of  the  county  stands  the  sheriff.     The  office  is 
one  of  great  antiquity,  the  term  being  derived  from  two 
Saxon  words   meaning  the  reeve  or  officer  of  the  shire 
(243).     As  in  England  the  sheriff  has  always  done  all  of 
the  king's  business  in  the  county,  so  in  this  country  he  is 
the  business  officer  of  the  state.     In  this  capacity  he  gives 
notice  to  the  election  officers  of  the  date  when  the  choice 
of  state  officers  will  be  made ;  is  the  proper  agent  to  pro- 
cure the  ballots  in  cases  of  disputed  elections,  and  some- 

176 


ADMINISTRATIVE    OFFICERS 


times  acts  upon  the  board  of  canvassers.  As  the  chief 
police  officer  he  is  called  upon  to  quell  riots;  may  call 
out  all  the  male  citizens  above  fifteen  and  under  forty-five 
years  of  age  to  assist ;  and,  in  case  it  is  necessary,  the  state 
militia  is  also  placed  under  his  command.  He  also  has 
charge  of  the  jails  and  takes  care  of  the  prisoners.  In 
England  he  holds  his  office  at  the  pleasure  of  the  king, 
and  generally  for  a  long  period ;  but  with  us  his  term  of 
office  is  limited. 

273.  Sheriff's  Assistants.  —  The  sheriff  is  looked  upon 
as  the  responsible  officer,  and  gives  a  bond  for  the  faithful 
performance  of   his   duty.     He   is,   however,   required  to 
appoint  an  under-sheriff,  and  also  several  other  assistants 
called  deputy  sheriffs.     Each  one  of  these  must  give  a 
bond  to   the  sheriff  as  their  superior,   and  are  liable  to 
removal  at  his  pleasure.     These  assistants  act  under  the 
direction  of  the  sheriff,  or  in  case  of  his  absence  from  the 
county ;  but  the  official  act  of  any  one  of  them  is  con- 
sidered the  act  of  the  sheriff,  and  in  case  he  is  disqualified 
to  act,  the  coroner,  or  some  other  officer,  not  one  of  his 
assistants,  takes  his  place. 

274.  County  Clerk.  —  The  county  clerk  has  the  same 
general  relation  to  the  government  as  the  township  clerk 
has  to  the  township  government  (90).     He  is  clerk  of  the 
board  of  supervisors,  and,  as  a  rule,  of  all  the  other  county 
boards  and  commissions ;  he  countersigns  all  orders  drawn 
upon  the  county  treasurer ;  issues  marriage  licenses,  keeps 
a  record  of  births  and  deaths  and  keeps  on  file  all  reports 
of  the  county  officers.     All  official  communications  from 
the  state  officers  to  the  township  clerks  are  made  through 
him. 

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275.  The    Treasurer. — The    county   treasurer,    as    the 
custodian  of  the  county  funds,  must  give  heavy  bonds,  and 
usually  can  hold  his  office  for  only  two  successive  terms. 
Under  the  township  unit  system  he  receives  the  money 
due  the  county  and  state  (91),  and  forwards  to  the  latter 
its  share ;  distributes  to  the  treasurers  any  money  due  their 
townships  ;  and  forces  the  collection  of  unpaid  taxes  by  a 
sale  of  the  property,  if  necessary.     Under  the  county  unit 
system  the  last  mentioned  duties  are  performed  by  a  tax- 
collector. 

276.  Register  of  Deeds.  —  It  is  the  duty  of  the  register 
of  deeds  to  enter  upon  books  prepared  for  that  purpose 
a  copy  of  all  deeds  and  real  estate  mortgages  upon  the 
lands  of  his  county.     These  books  contain  a  complete  his- 
tory of  the  titles  to  all  the  lands  in  the  county.     By  means 
of  abstracts  (136),  and  from  the  indexes  contained  in  the 
books  themselves,  the  history  of  any  particular  description 
may  be  found. 

277.  Superintendent  of  Schools.  —  In  the  majority  of  the 
states  there  is  elected  in  each  county  a  superintendent  of 
schools.     It  is  his  duty  to  hold  public  examinations  and  to 
issue  certificates  to  those  whom  he  finds  qualified  to  teach  ; 
to  hold  institutes ;  to  consult  with  school  officers,  and  to 
make  such  reports  to  the  state  superintendent  and  to  the 
county  clerk  as  are  required  by  law.     Often  he  is  assisted, 
especially  in  the  examination  of  teachers,  by  two  or  more 
persons,  who,  together  with  the  superintendent,  form  the 
county  board  of  school  examiners.     This  board  is  usually 
given  the  power  to  revoke  certificates  for  any  reason  that 
would   have  justified  them  in  withholding  one.     In  most 
states  women  are  also  eligible  to  this  office. 

178 


ADMINISTRATIVE    OFFICERS 


In  addition  to  what  may  be  called  his  purely  profes- 
sional work,  the  county  superintendent  in  some  of  the  states 
has  other  services  of  a  very  important  business  nature. 
In  California,  Arizona,  and  generally  where  the  county  is 
the  unit  (83),  he  audits  accounts  against  school  districts ; 
appoints  trustees  to  fill  vacancies ;  apportions  its  share  of 
the  school  money  to  each  district ;  maintains  the  school  in 
each  district  for  five  months  when  the  school  board  fails  to 
do  so ;  requires  the  trustees  to  keep  the  schoolhouse  and 
outbuildings  in  good  repair  and  sanitary  condition,  and 
administers  oaths  to  teachers  and  school  officers.  In  Ken- 
tucky he  is  required  to  condemn  any  school  building  which 
is  dilapidated,  unhealthful,  or  otherwise  unfitted  to  be  occu- 
pied for  the  purpose  of  a  common  school. 

278.  Other  Administrative  Officers.  —  The  coroner  is  an 
ancient  officer  of  the  crown,  whose  principal  duty  is  to 
investigate  the  circumstances  connected  with  deaths  by 
violence,  or  when  there  is  any  suspicion  of  violence.  In 
this  capacity  he  acts  as  a  judge,  and  the  facts  are  inquired 
into  by  a  jury  which  he  is  authorized  to  summon.  In 
Michigan  he  takes  the  place  of  a  sheriff  when  for  any 
reason  that  officer  is  disqualified  to  act.  In  many  of  the 
states  there  is  an  officer  called  a  public  administrator, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  take  charge  of  the  estates  of  deceased 
persons  who  have  no  heirs  or  devisees  in  the  state. 

A  surveyor  lays  out  and  establishes  the  grades  of  high- 
ways ;  a  drain  commissioner  looks  after  the  construction 
and  repair  of  ditches  for  removing  surplus  water  from 
swamp  lands ;  while  in  the  arid  states  overseers  are 
elected  to  construct  irrigating  canals,  to  regulate  their 
use,  and  to  apportion  and  distribute  the  water  conveyed. 

179 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Officers  and  offices. 

2.  Administrative  duties  of  the  sheriff. 

3.  The  sheriff's  assistants. 

4.  The  county  clerk. 

5.  The  county  treasurer. 

6.  The  register  of  deeds. 

7.  Superintendent  of  schools. 

8.  Other    administrative    officers :    coroner,    public 

administrator,  surveyor,  etc. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Suppose  a  fire  should  destroy  the  books  in  the  register's  office, 
how  might  this  affect  you  ? 

2.  How  many  grades  of  certificates  are  issued  by  the  county  board 
of  examiners? 

3.  Why  must  every  teacher  in  the  public  schools  have  a  legal  cer- 
tificate ? 

4.  Who  can  arrest  the  sheriff  in  this  county  ? 

5.  Can  a  justice  of  the  peace  perform  the  duties  of  a  coroner  in  this 
state  ? 

6.  Does  the  county  clerk  have  a  seal  ? 

7.  How  many  successive  terms  can  a  sheriff  serve  in  this  state? 

8.  If  an  abstract  shows  no  flaw  in  the  title,  are  you  certain  there 
is  none  ? 

9.  Give  the  name  of  any  other  county  officer. 

10.  Has  the  county  superintendent  in  this  state  enough  power  ? 


1 80 


XXV 

THE  COUNTY  COURTS 


279.  Necessity  for  County  Courts.  —  One  of    the  chief 
purposes  of  the  county  organization  is  the  better  adminis- 
tration of  justice,  and  in  some  states  this  is  about  the  only 
object  (247).     This,  however,  is  very  important;    for  we 
should  have  scant  security  for  person  or  property  if  suits 
involving    large    sums,  and    criminal   actions  where    long 
terms  of   imprisonment   are  inflicted,  were  to  be  settled 
finally  in   the  township  courts,  where  the  justices  them- 
selves are  for  the  most  part  unlearned  in  the  law.     The 
resources  of  the  township  are  too  slender  and  the  amount 
of  business  too  small  to  maintain  expensive  suits  in  the 
courts,  even  if  a  sufficient  number  of  learned  judges  could 
be  found  to  preside  over  them. 

280.  Circuit  Courts.  —  In  all  the  states  there  are  to  be 
found  county  courts,  variously  called  circuit,  district,  supe- 
rior, and  courts  of  common  pleas,  for  the  trial  of  the  more 
important  causes  both  civil  and   criminal,  and  to  which 
appeals  may  be  made  from  the  decisions  rendered  in  the 
township   courts.     Sometimes,  as    in   Ohio,  the  civil   and 
criminal  causes  are  intrusted  to  separate  courts.     Courts 
are  commonly  divided   into  those  of   record  and  not  of 
record,  the  former  being  provided  with  a  seal  and  a  clerk, 
the  latter  having  neither.     In  courts  of  record  the  proceed- 

181 


TRAINING   FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


ings  are  carefully  written  down,  and  the  files  of  each  case 
are  preserved  by  the  clerk  to  be  referred  to  when  necessary. 
A  court  of  record  has  power  to  inflict  a  fine  and  imprison- 
ment for  a  contempt  of  its  authority.  County  courts  are 
generally  of  record ;  townships  courts  are  not. 

281.  Probate   Courts.  —  Besides  the  ones  already  men- 
tioned there  is  often  a  probate  court  presided  over  by  a 
separate  judge.     It  is  usually  called  a  probate  court,  some- 
times the  county  court,  and  in  New  York  the  surrogate. 
In  California  the  superior  judge  of  the  county  has  charge 
of  the  probate.     The  chief  duty  of   this  court  is  to  care 
for  the  estates  of    deceased    persons ;    to  see   that  each 
claimant,  whether  an  heir  or  a  creditor,  receives  what  is 
legally  due,  and  to  protect  the  widow  and  appoint  a  guar- 
dian for  any  child,  weak-minded  or  insane  person  that  may 
need  some  one  to  care  for  his  estate.     If  the  deceased  left 
a  will,  an  executor  is  appointed ;  if  there  was  no  will,  the 
person  is  said  to  be  intestate,  and  the  judge  appoints  an 
administrator.     Insane   persons   are  also  examined  by  a 
commission  chosen  by  the  probate  judge.     In  addition  to 
probate  matters,  this  court  is  sometimes  given  a  limited 
jurisdiction  in  civil  and  in  criminal  cases,  and  in  some  states 
the  probate  judge  acts  as  superintendent  of  schools.     An 
appeal  lies  from  the  probate  to  the  circuit  court. 

282.  Law  and  Equity.  —  There  is  also  a  distinction  be- 
tween a  court  of  law  and  a  court  of  equity,  or,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  a  court  of  chancery.     In  a  court  of  law 
the  cause  must  be  decided  according  to  the  strict  require- 
ments of   the  statute  ;   but  as  this  often  defeats  the  real 
intent,  a  court  of  equity  will,  in  some  instances,  disregard 
the  strict  letter  of  the  law  and  grant  relief.     For  example, 

182 


THE    COUNTY    COURTS 


if  a  man  should  borrow  a  sum  of  money  and  give  a  deed 
of  his  homestead  for  security,  as  a  matter  of  strict  law 
the  one  who  held  the  deed  would  own  the  land.  But  in 
the  court  of  equity  this  instrument,  which  upon  its  face  is 
a  deed,  would  be  considered  a  mortgage,  and,  before  pos- 
session could  be  taken,  the  grantee  would  have  to  fore- 
close (135).  Sometimes  courts  of  law  and  courts  of  equity 
are  presided  over  by  separate  judges,  often  by  the  same 
judge,  and  in  some  states  the  distinction  is  abolished. 
The  final  action  of  a  court  of  law  is  called  a  judgment 
(184);  that  of  a  court  of  equity 'is  termed  a  decree. 

283.  Jurisdiction.  —  In  civil  matters  the  circuit  courts  are 
given  original  jurisdiction  (177),  where  the  debt  or  damage 
exceeds  $100;  and  in  criminal  cases,  whenever  the  punish- 
ment for  the  offence  is  imprisonment  for  more  than  ninety 
days,  or  a  fine  of  over  $100  (187).     When  the  amount  of 
the  debt,  or  the  damage  claimed,  is  between  $100  and  $300, 
the  plaintiff  can  bring  a  suit  either  in  the  township  or  in  the 
county  court  if  he  sees  fit.     In  this  case  the  jurisdiction  is 
said  to  be  concurrent.     The  orders  of  the  justice  of  the 
peace  cannot  as  a  rule  be  enforced  outside  of  the  county  in 
which  they  are  issued;    the  orders  of  the  county  court  are 
valid  anywhere  in  the  state. 

284.  The  Grand  Jury.  —  There  are  two  kinds  of  juries  in 
the  circuit  courts,  —  grand  (large)  and  petit  (small).     The 
grand  jury  consists  of  not  less  than  twelve  nor  more  than 
twenty-three  men,  drawn  from  various  parts  of  the  county. 
This  jury  does  not  actually  try  causes,  but  examines  into 
charges  submitted  by  the  judge,  and  determines  whether 
there  is  reasonable  ground  to  believe  the  accused  to  be 
guilty  of  the  crime  charged  in  the  indictment,  or  accusa- 

183 


TRAINING   FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


tion  (188).  If  at  least  twelve  of  the  grand  jury  think  there 
is  sufficient  ground,  the  words  "a  true  bill"  (193)  are 
indorsed  upon  the  indictment,  and  the  accused  must  stand 
trial.  As  no  evidence  is  heard  in  favor  of  the  accused, 
grand  juries  are  little  used  in  some  states,  their  place  being 
supplied  by  the  preliminary  examination  of  the  justice  of 
the  peace. 

285.  The  Petit  Jury.  —  For  the  actual  trial  of  causes  the 
petit  jury  is  employed.      It  consists  of  twelve  electors  who 
reside  in  different  portions  of  the  county,  there  being  two 
panels,  or  twenty-four  jurors  in  all,  drawn  each  term  of 
court,  and  who  serve  during  the  whole  term.     Upon  the 
trial   of   any  cause   the   jurors  are  subject   to   the  same 
objections  as  in  the  township  court  (176),  and  if  twelve  in- 
different men  cannot  be  found  among  those  summoned, 
talesmen  are  chosen.     The  verdict  must  be  unanimous  in 
criminal  cases;  but  in  civil  cases  in  some  states  a  greater 
or  less  majority  decides. 

286.  Supervisory  Powers.  —  Besides   his  duties  in  the 
trial  of  causes,  the  circuit  judge  may  exercise  supervision 
over  township  boards,  county  boards,  and  all  public  officers. 
Any  proceeding  had  before  a  township  or  county  board  can 
be  reviewed  before  the  circuit  court ;  and  if  for  any  reason 
the  business  has  not  been  legally  performed,  it  may  be  set 
aside.     In  the  same  way  if  there  be  any  reason  to  suspect 
that  a  public  officer  has  exceeded  his  powers,  or  has  violated 
the  law,  he  may  be  punished  in  this  court.      Offences  of 
this  kind  may  be  inquired  into  upon  complaint  of  any  pri- 
vate person,  or  the  judge  may  order  the  summoning  of 
the  grand  jury  for  that  purpose. 

287.  Appeals.  —  From  the  decisions  of  the  county  court 


THE    COUNTY    COURTS 


upon  questions  of  law  either  party  may  appeal  to  a  higher 
court  (185).  This  is  not  the  case  as  to  questions  of  fact, 
for  as  to  the  facts  the  decision  of  a  jury,  or  of  the  judge 
when  there  is  no  jury,  is  final.  It  is  the  application  of  the 
law  to  the  facts  and  the  admission  or  rejection  of  testimony 
that  may  be  appealed  from.  The  number  of  courts  to  which 
an  appeal  can  be  made  from  the  county  courts  differs  in  the 
states,  there  being  one  in  Michigan  called  the  supreme 
court,  and  two  in  New  York,  the  supreme  court  and  court 
of  appeal,  the  latter  being  the  higher  authority. 

288.  Error.  —  A  writ  of  error  is  a  command  issuing  from 
the  appellate  court,   directed   to   the   inferior   court,   and 
ordering  the  judge  either  to  examine  the  record  to  see  if 
there  be  not  some  mistake  in  fact  by  reason  of  which  the 
judgment  ought  to  be  set  aside ;  or  to  send  the  record  to 
the  appellate  court  to  see  if  there  has  not  been  some  mis- 
take in  law  by  reason  of  which  justice  would  be  defeated, 
if   the   judgment   should   be   allowed    to    stand.       If   the 
decision  should  be  against  the  validity  of  the  judgment, 
it  will  either  be  set  aside,  or  a  new  trial  ordered,  or  the  case 
will  be  dismissed  entirely.     In  no  event  will  a  new  trial 
be  granted  unless  the  protection  of  substantial  rights  re- 
quire it. 

289.  Mandamus.  —  This  is  a  Latin  word  meaning  "we 
command  you."     It  is  directed  to  some  person,  corporation, 
or  inferior  court,  requiring  them  to  do  something  which  it 
is  their  duty  to  perform,  but  which  they  are  neglecting. 
It  is  by  the  use  of  this  writ  that  courts  oblige   public 
ofHcers  to  discharge  the  duties  of  their  offices.     If  they 
refuse  to  perform  an  act  which  the  law  clearly  requires, 
the  superior  will  compel  obedience. 

185 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


290.  Injunctions.  —  The  writ  of  injunction  is  a  judicial 
order  whereby  a  party  is  personally  required  to  refrain 
from  doing,  or  to  perform  a  particular  act,  as  to  which  the 
party  asking  the  injunction  has  a  clear  right.     It  generally 
prevents  rather  than  restrains,  but  may  do  either.     Armed 
with  a  writ  of   injunction,  an  officer  can  prevent  a  man 
from  making  an  inflammatory  speech,  can  disperse  a  mob, 
or  require  a  person  to  retain  possession  of  securities  which 
are  claimed  by  another. 

291.  The  Circuit  Judge.  —  The  highest  judicial  officer 
in  the  county  is  the  circuit,  district,  or  superior  judge. 
This  position  is  a  very  important  one,  as  upon  the  judge, 
more  than  upon  any  other  officer,  depends  the  vigorous 
enforcement  of  the  law.     He  must  be  an  attorney,  should 
have  had  a  long  experience  in  active  practice,  must  be  a 
man  of  the  very  highest  character,  and  should  have  a  good 
education  so  that  he  may  be  able  to  express  himself  clearly 
and  forcibly  in  his  written  opinions.     He  is  paid  a  salary, 
usually  holds  his  office  for  at  least  six  years,  and  is  often 
reflected  without  reference  to  his  political  belief.     Writs 
of  mandamus,  habeas  corpus,  and  injunction  may  be  issued 
by  the  circuit  judge. 

292.  The  Sheriff  as  Court  Officer.  —  In  addition  to  the 
duties  already  mentioned,  the  sheriff  has  the  same  relation 
to  the  county  court  as  the  constable  has  to  the  township 
court  (87).     The  former  can,  however,  serve  the  orders  of 
the  county  court  in  any  part  of  the  state  ;  but  the  authority 
of  the  latter  is  confined  entirely  to  his  own  county,  and  he 
may  not  act  as  an  officer  in  the  circuit  court.     Either  the 
sheriff  or  one  of  his  assistants  is  present  at  every  session 
of  the  circuit  court  to  preserve  order. 

1 86 


THE    COUNTY    COURTS 


293.  The  Clerk  as  Court  Officer.  —  A  very  important  part 
of  the  county  clerk's  duties  is  to  act  as  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court.     He  makes   out  all  the  writs,  keeps  the  records, 
preserves  the  papers  relating  to  each  cause  in  a  separate 
file,  attends  to  the  drawing  of  the  jury,  and  performs  all 
other  duties  that  are  merely  clerical  in  their  nature.     In 
the  actual  trial  of  a  cause,  the  evidence  as  given  by  the 
witnesses,  the  charge  of  the  judge,  and  in  some  cases  even 
the  arguments  of  the  lawyers  are  taken  down  verbatim  by 
the  court  stenographer. 

294.  Attorneys  at  Law.  —  For  the  assistance  of  those 
who  have  causes  to  try,  there  is  a  class  of  court  officers 
known  as  attorneys  at  law.     An  attorney  must  be  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  must  have  passed  an  examination  for 
admission  to  the  bar,   as  a  rule  must  be  a  citizen  of  the 
state,  must  take  the  oath    prescribed  by  law.     In  many 
states  graduates  of  law  schools  are  admitted  to  practise 
upon  their  diploma  and  without  an  examination   by  the 
court.     An  attorney  of  one  state  is  not  permitted  to  prac- 
tise in  the   courts  of  a  neighboring    state    unless  he  be 
regularly   admitted    to   the    bar,    or   unless   upon    special 
motion  by  some  reputable  attorney  he  be  granted  a  special 
privilege  by  the  court  to  try  a  single  case.     In  Florida  one 
who  is   permitted   to  practise  in  the  circuit  court  of  the 
United    States    may   practise  in   the   state  court.     If   an 
attorney  be  guilty  of  unprofessional  conduct,  he  may,  upon 
conviction,  be  disbarred. 

295.  The  County  Attorney.  —  When  any  one  is  charged 
with  a  crime  he  must  stand  trial,  and  as  in  every  county 
there  is  certain  to  be  quite  a  number  of  these  cases  during 
the  year,  one  of  the  attorneys  is  elected  by  popular  vote  to 

187 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


take  charge  of  them.  It  is  also  the  duty  of  the  county 
attorney  to  prosecute  or  defend  any  action  in  which  the 
county  is  interested,  and  to  give  advice  to  county  offi- 
cers when  requested.  As  the  greater  part  of  the  time 
is  taken  up  in  prosecuting  those  charged  with  crime,  he  is 
often  called  a  prosecuting  attorney.  This  title,  however, 
is  misleading,  for  it  is  as  much  his  duty  to  protect  an 
innocent  prisoner  as  it  is  to  secure  the  conviction  of  a 
guilty  one.  Like  the  judge,  he  is  paid  a  salary. 

296.  Court  Commissioners.  —  In  most  counties,  and 
especially  where  several  are  joined  for  judicial  purposes 
into  one  circuit,  there  is  more  business  than  the  judge  can 
find  time  to  do.  He  is,  therefore,  given  assistants  in  each 
county,  called  commissioners,  who  have  authority  in  certain 
cases  to  act  in  his  place,  subject,  however,  to  appeal. 
Whenever,  also,  there  is  a  question  to  be  decided  which 
does  not  require  the  exercise  of  judicial  discretion,  as  find- 
ing the  amount  due  on  a  mortgage,  the  commissioner  does 
it.  These  officers  must  be  attorneys. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Necessity  for  courts  higher  than  the  justice's. 

2.  Courts  of  record  and  not  of  record. 

3.  The  duties  of  probate  court. 

4.  Law  courts  ;  equity  courts. 

5.  Jurisdiction:  original,  appellate,  concurrent. 

6.  The  grand  jury  ;  the  true  bill. 

7.  The  trial  jury. 

8.  Supervisory  control  of  officers  and  board  by  the  circuit  judge. 

9.  Appeals  to  the  supreme  court. 

10.    How  a  judge  may  be  compelled  to  correct  his  own  mistakes. 

188 


THE    COUNTY    COURTS 


11.  Any  person  may  be  compelled  to  do  his  duty. 

12.  How  a  person  may  be  prevented  from  doing  wrong. 

13.  Qualifications  for  a  circuit  judge. 

14.  The  sheriff  as  court  officer. 

15.  The  clerk  as  court  officer. 

1 6.  Attorneys  at  law. 

17.  Court  commissioners. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  When  would  a  knowledge  of  chemistry  be  useful  to  a  judge? 

2.  What  is  meant  by  "  government  by  injunction  "  ? 

3.  Is  a  grand  jury  regularly  summoned  in  the  courts  of  this  state  ? 

4.  Who  is  "  a  professional  juryman  "  ? 

5.  Should  a  circuit  judge  travel  on  a  railroad  pass  ? 

6.  What  are  the  conditions  for  admission  to  the  bar  in  this  state  ? 

7.  State  a  case  where  an  attorney  ought  to  be  disbarred. 

8.  If  the  jury  renders  a  verdict  contrary  to  evidence,  what  course 
may  the  judge  pursue  ? 

9.  Has  the  judge  a  right  to  question  a  witness  ?    May  a  juryman 
question  a  witness  ? 

10.  State  a  case  which  must  be  tried  by  a  court  of  equity. 


189 


XXVI 

THE  TERRITORIES 


"  The  territories  of  the  United  States  are  quite  different  from  the 
colonies  of  ancient  or  modern  times ;  the  territory  is  an  inchoate 
state,  and  has  been  a  powerful  factor  in  the  development  of  the 
nation."  —  HINSDALE,  American  Government. 


297.  Historical.  —  The  thirteen  original  states  whose 
independence  was  recognized  by  Great  Britain  in  the  treaty 
of  Paris,  signed  September  3,  1783,  practically  occupied 
only  the  country  lying  between  the  Alleghanies  and  the 
Atlantic,  and  to  this  strip  the  British  ministers  attempted 
to  confine  them.  The  colonial  governments,  however, 
claimed  all  the  country  lying  between  the  Alleghanies  and 
the  Mississippi  River,  and  this  was  finally  conceded.  By 
1 802  (63)  all  the  last-mentioned  territory  had  been  ceded 
to  Congress  by  the  states,  with  the  understanding  that  it 
should  be  under  the  control  of  the  national  government 
until  such  time  as  it  could,  portion  by  portion,  be  prepared 
for  self-government  and  admitted  as  separate  states  into 
the  union.  By  separate  additions  the  original  Mississippi 
boundary  has  been  pushed  westward  on  the  continent  to 
the  Pacific,  south  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  Alaska, 
Hawaii,  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippines  have  been  added. 

IQO 


THE   TERRITORIES 


298.  A  European  Colony.  —  Previous  to  1787(224)^6 
colonial  possessions  of  a  nation  were  looked  upon  as  so 
much  property,  to  be  disposed  of  in  any  manner,  and  upon 
such  terms  as  the  owner  should  see  fit.     They  could  be 
bought,  sold,  and  transferred  upon  the  same  principle  as 
real  or  personal  property,  and  without  consulting  the  in- 
habitants.    The   central   idea    in    acquiring    territory,    in 
planting  colonies,  or  in  disposing  of  them  was  simply  one 
of  commercial  or  military  advantage.     Usually  the  colo- 
nists were  given  more  or  less  power  to  control  their  local 
affairs ;  but  the  extent  of  it  depended  entirely  upon  the 
policy  of  the  superior  government.     England  has,  when  it 
was  considered  practicable,  always  granted  considerable 
privileges  in  this  direction ;  but  such    has  not   been   the 
policy  of  Spain.     In  theory,  and  in  practice  also  in  all  ex- 
cept the  more  important  ones  belonging  to  Great  Britain,  a 
European  colony  is  simply  a  subject  province. 

299.  An  American  Territory.  —  An  American  territory 
is  one  of  the  districts  in  which,  for  the  purpose  of  local  gov- 
ernment, the  public  domain  is  divided.     The  word  "  terri- 
tory "  is  here  used  in  a  narrow  sense,  as  including  only  that 
part  of  our  dominions  not  organized  into  a  state,  and  which 
is  the  property  of  the  whole  nation.     A  territory  may  be 
unorganized,  in  which  case  the  people  have  nothing  to  say 
in  the  management  of  the  local  affairs  ;  or  it  may  be  organ- 
ized, when  nearly  everything  pertaining  to  the  local  gov- 
ernment is  left  to  the  people.     Every  state  in  the  union, 
except  the  original  thirteen  and  Texas,  has  passed  through 
the  last  of   these  stages  on  its  way  to    statehood ;  many 
have  passed  through  both,  and  it  has  been  the  policy  of 
Congress  to  encourage  this  progress.     In    an    American 

191 


TRAINING   FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


territory  the  central  object  (298)  is  to  secure  the  peace, 
prosperity,  and  true  happiness  of  the  people  by  cultivating 
a  spirit  of  self-dependence. 

An  American  territory  is  looked  upon  as  an  embryo 
state,  to  be  admitted  to  statehood  as  soon  as  it  shall  appear 
to  Congress  that  the  conditions  will  warrant  it.  Alaska, 
the  Indian  Territory,  and  the  Philippines  are  unorganized. 
The  District  of  Columbia  can  hardly  be  called  a  territory, 
but  is  simply  a  piece  of  land,  which  the  whole  nation  will 
always  own  as  a  site  for  the  national  capital.  Its  laws  are 
all  made  by  Congress ;  the  executive  duties  are  discharged 
by  three  commissioners  appointed  by  the  President,  and 
confirmed  by  the  Senate  ;  it  has  a  special  system  of  courts, 
and  none  of  the  inhabitants  may  vote.  All  the  rest  of  the 
territories  are  organized,  and  each  sends  a  delegate  to  the 
national  House  of  Representatives,  who  may  speak  upon 
any  question  which  affects  the  particular  territory  he 
represents,  but  cannot  vote  (399).  A  territory  has  no 
representative  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

300.  The  Constitution  of  a  Territory.  —  The  fundamen- 
tal law,  or  constitution,  of  every  territory  is  the  act  of  Con- 
gress which  organized  it.  The  constitution  of  a  territory 
resembles  the  British  constitution  in  this,  that  it  can  be 
altered  whenever  the  national  legislature  sees  fit.  The 
general  nature  of  our  territorial  form  of  government  was 
fixed  by  the  Ordinance  of  1787  —  "the  Magna  Charta  of 
the  West "  (224).  It  provided  for  a  governor  and  three 
judges  to  whom,  subject  to  the  approval  of  Congress,  the 
executive,  legislative,  and  judicial  duties  were  intrusted. 
The  Ordinance,  however,  provided  that  when  the  free 
male  inhabitants  should  reach  five  thousand,  the  form  of 

192 


THE   TERRITORIES 


government  should  be  made  to  accord  more  with  republi- 
can ideas.  In  addition,  a  territory,  as  in  the  case  of  Ari- 
zona, sometimes  adopts  a  "  Bill  of  Rights,"  which  stands 
in  the  place  of  a  constitution.  Of  course  this  must  not 
conflict  with  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  nor 
with  any  act  of  Congress  passed  either  before  or  after  the 
adoption  of  the  Bill  of  Rights. 

301.  An  Unorganized  Territory. — The  latest  example 
of  how  the  United  States  seeks  to  introduce  a  form  of  civil 
government  into  new  territory  is  found  in  the  Philippines. 
After  they  had  been  reduced  to  order  by  the  military,  a 
commission  of  five  members  was  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent to  act  under  the  general  instruction  of  the  Secretary 
of  War.  This  commission  was  instructed  first,  to  organize 
local  governments  to  correspond  with  those  of  our  town- 
ships, villages,  and  cities ;  and  second,  to  combine  these 
subdivisions  into  larger  ones  like  our  counties.  In  the 
distribution  of  powers  all  that  could  properly  be  exercised 
by  the  smaller  divisions  were  to  be'granted  to  them ;  pow- 
ers of  a  more  general  nature  were  to  be  given  to  the  larger 
districts ;  and  the  superior  government  in  the  islands,  after 
the  manner  of  our  states,  was  to  deal  only  with  those  sub- 
jects that  concerned  the  people  as  a  whole.  In  an  unor- 
ganized territory  the  commission  exercises  all  these  general 
powers,  —  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial.  A  primary 
school  system  was  to  be  established,  and  the  course  of 
study  was  to  be  of  such  a  character  as  should  tend  to  fit 
the  people  for  the  duties  of  citizenship,  and  for  the  ordi- 
nary vocations  of  civilized  life.  Instruction  was  to  be 
given  at  first  in  the  language  of  the  people;  but  a  full 
opportunity  was  to  be  offered  to  all  to  acquire  the  English 


TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


language.       The  citizens  have  no  rights  except   such  as 
Congress  may  choose  to  grant. 

302.  An  Organized  Territory. — The  governmental  ma- 
chinery in  an  organized  territory  very  much  resembles  that 
in  one  of  our   states.     Some    differences  will  always   be 
found ;  but  if  one  is  familiar  with  the  general  features  of 
the  township  and  county  unit  systems,  a  little  experience 
will  enable  him  to  learn  them  very  readily.     The  general 
government  of  an  organized  territory  is  divided  into  three 
departments,  —  legislative,    executive,  and  judicial.      The 
legislative  department  consists  of  a  house  of  representa- 
tives of   twenty-four   members,  and  a  council   of   twelve 
members,  each  being  chosen  biennially  by  the  people  from 
districts.     There  is  one  regular  session  every  two  years, 
its  length  being  limited  to  sixty  days,  and  each  member 
receiving  $4  per  day  for  his  services. 

The  range  of  subjects  intrusted  to  the  territorial  legis- 
lature is  substantially  the  same  as  in  the  states,  but  its 
enactments  can  be  vetoed  by  the  governor  and  by  Con- 
gress as  well.  Congress,  however,  rarely  ever  interferes 
when  the  proposed  law  is  local  in  its  nature.  Thus  it  is 
that  the  regulation  of  township,  city,  and  county  officers, 
the  support  of  public  institutions,  the  punishment  of 
offences  against  either  public  or  private  law  (160),  and 
even  the  procedure  in  the  courts  is  controlled  by  a  legis- 
lature the  members  of  which  are  elected  by  the  people. 

303.  Executive  and  Judicial.  —  The  chief  executive  officer 
is  the  governor,  who  is  appointed  by  the  President  with 
the  consent  of  the  Senate  (391).     He  has  far  more  power 
than  has  one  of  the  governors  of  a  state,  for  he  appoints 
and  removes  at   pleasure   such   officers  as   the   territorial 

194 


THE    TERRITORIES 


treasurer  and  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  who  in 
the  states  are  elected  by  a  popular  vote.  He  appoints  all 
the  members  of  the  various  boards  and  commissions, 
recommends  the  passage  of  laws  to  the  legislature,  and 
may  pardon  convicted  criminals  or  commute  their  sen- 
tences. He  makes  an  annual  report  to  the  President  in 
which  the  advantages  and  resources  of  the  territory  are 
set  forth  in  a  light  well  calculated  to  convince  the  unwary 
that  the  territory  is  more  than  well  prepared  for  admission 
as  a  state. 

For  judicial  purposes  a  territory  is  divided  into  three 
districts,  each  of  which  is  presided  over  by  a  judge  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate  for 
a  term  of  four  years.  These  judges  hold  regular  terms  of 
court  in  the  several  counties  of  their  districts,  and  appeals 
will  lie  to  these  district  courts  from  the  justice's  courts. 
The  supreme  court  of  the  territory  consists  of  these  three 
judges  sitting  together  at  the  capital.  Both  the  governor 
and  the  judges  are  paid  by  the  general  government,  but 
the  remaining  officers  are  paid  by  the  territory.  An  ap- 
peal may  be  taken  from  the  supreme  court  of  the  territory 
to  tr\e  supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 

304.  Local  Life.  —  If  you  were  to  be  suddenly  trans- 
ported from  one  of  the  older  states  to  the  more  thickly 
settled  portions  of  one  of  our  territories,  you  might  not 
at  once  discover  any  great  change  in  your  surroundings. 
The  stores,  churches,  schoolhouses,  and  private  dwellings 
would  have  a  familiar  look;  the  dress,  general  appearance, 
and  manners  of  the  people  would  not  be  at  all  strange ; 
they  would  be  engaged  in  about  the  same  occupations, 
and  everywhere  you  would  hear  the  English  language 

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TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


spoken.  A  little  further  acquaintance,  especially  in  the 
newer  portions,  would  convince  you  that  the  conditions  of 
life  are  harder  than  in  the  older  states.  The  common 
laborer  and  those  who  receive  small  salaries  are  better 
paid  than  elsewhere  ;  but  those  who  occupy  the  higher 
positions  receive  less,  and  the  cost  of  living  is  greater. 

As  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  passive  rights  of  citizenship, 
there  is  no  difference  anywhere  in  the  country,  and  the  citi- 
zens of  an  organized  territory  are  entitled  to  freedom  of 
trade  with  the  states.  Here,  as  everywhere,  the  law  gives 
its  equal  protection  to  person  and  to  property ;  and  these 
laws  are  enforced  by  courts  organized  upon  the  same  plan 
and  endowed  with  the  same  powers  as  in  the  states.  In 
the  newer  portions  there  is  more  lawlessness ;  but  ordinarily 
a  person  gets  along  well  enough  if  he  behaves  himself. 

In  the  exercise  of  their  local  political  rights  there  is  no 
difference.  All  the  local  officers  are  elected  at  regular 
intervals,  and  usually  by  the  Australian  ballot  system;  the 
caucus  is  followed  by  the  primary,  and  that  by  the  conven- 
tion ;  and  the  campaign  is  carried  on  with  spirit,  and 
sometimes  without  much  principle.  As  to  the  manage- 
ment of  national  affairs,  the  people  have  no  voice,  for 
they  have  no  vote.  They  are,  however,  always  greatly 
interested  in  the  result,  for  a  new  President  means  a  new 
governor;  this  in  turn  means  new  territorial  officers 
throughout ;  and  if  a  new  political  party  comes  into  power, 
new  judges  will  follow  in  time.  No  portion  of  the  country 
is  affected  so  quickly  and  so  greatly  by  a  change  in  the 
administration  as  is  one  of  the  territories.  The  people  are 
nearer  the  national  government  than  they  are  in  the  states. 

305.  Admission  to  Statehood.  —  The  Constitution  of  the 

196 


THE    TERRITORIES 


United  States  gives  Congress  power  to  admit  new  states, 
the  only  restriction  being  that  "no  new  states  shall  be 
formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other 
state,  nor  shall  any  other  state  be  formed  by  the  junction 
of  two  or  more  states,  or  parts  of  states,  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  legislatures  of  the  states  concerned  as  well  as 
of  the  Congress  "  (Art.  IV,  §  63).  Since  the  admission  of 
Ohio,  Congress  has  usually  passed  an  enabling  act,  and 
required  the  territory  applying  for  statehood  first  to  adopt 
a  constitution  republican  in  form.  It  has  also  been  the 
rule  not  to  admit  a  state  until  the  number  of  inhabitants 
was  sufficient  to  entitle  it  to  one  representative  ;  •  but  this 
requirement  has  not  always  been  observed.  On  the  other 
hand,  Utah  was  denied  admission  until  long  after  it  had  the 
requisite  number  of  inhabitants,  because  of  Mormonism 
with  its  practice  of  polygamy. 

TOPICAL   ANALYSIS 

1.  The  terms  upon  which  the  colonial  governments  ceded  their 
lands  to  Congress. 

2.  The  European  idea  of  a  colony. 

3.  The  central  idea  of  an  American  territory. 

4.  The  constitution  of  a  territory. 

5.  Form  of  government  in  the  Philippines. 

6.  A  territorial  legislature. 

7.  The  executive  and  judicial  departments  of  a  territory. 

8.  Local  life  in  a  territory;  passive  and  active  rights  of  citizen- 
ship. 

9.  Admission  to  statehood. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

i .   What  is  the  difference  between  an  inchoate  and  an  embryo  state? 
a.  Give  three  definitions  for  the  word  "  territory." 

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TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


3.  What  subjects  in  a  school  course  are  best  adapted  to  fit  the  peo- 
ple for  the  "  ordinary  avocations  of  life  "  ? 

4.  Under  what  circumstances  was  West  Virginia  admitted  as  a 
state  ? 

5.  If  the  people  of  Utah  should  again  attempt  to  practise  polygamy, 
could  Congress  make  that  state  a  territory  once  more  ? 

6.  Point  out  the  advantages  which  a  state  has  over  a  territory. 

7.  Under  what  circumstances  would  the  territorial  form  of  govern- 
ment be  preferable  ? 

8.  Are  the  territories  permitted  to  send  delegates  to  a  national 
convention  ? 

9.  When  was  this  state  admitted  to  the  union  ? 

10.  Did  Congress  pass  an  enabling  act  for  the  admission  of  Cali- 
fornia ? 


198 


Part   IV 

The   State    Government 


CHAPTER  XXVII.  One  of  the  United  States 

CHAPTER  XXVIII.  The  Executive  Department 

CHAPTER  XXIX.  Aids  to  the  Executive 

CHAPTER  XXX.  The  Legislative  Department 

CHAPTER  XXXI.  The  Judicial  Department 


XXVII 

ONE   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES 


"  To  balance  a  large  state  or  society,  whether  monarchical  or 
republican,  on  general  laws,  is  a  work  of  so  great  difficulty  that 
no  human  genius,  however  comprehensive,  is  able  by  mere  dint  of 
reason  and  reflection  to  effect  it.  The  judgments  of  many  must 
unite  in  this  work.  Experience  must  guide  their  labor,  time  must 
bring  it  to  perfection,  and  the  feeling  of  inconveniences  must  correct 
the  mistakes  which  they  inevitably  fall  into  in  their  first  trial  and 
experiments."  —  VON  HOLT'S  Constitutional  History. 


306.  Definition  of  a  State.  —  A  state  is  a  political  com- 
munity, permanently  residing  within  definite  limits  of  ter- 
ritory, and  exercising  over  the  people  therein  a  humane 
control  by  means  of  self-imposed  laws.  The  chief  object 
of  this  community  must  be  to  deal  with  those  subjects 
which  are  essentially  political  (18).  This  would  exclude 
such  organizations  as  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Company, 
because  its  object  was  commercial.  At  least  a  part  of  the 
laws  must  be  self-imposed,  and  there  must  be  a  central 
authority  capable  of  enforcing  them.  This  would  leave 
out  of  consideration  such  a  political  division  as  a  county, 
for  all  of  its  powers  are  derived,  mediately  or  immediately, 
from  a  higher  authority.  The  notion  of  control,  unlimited 
to  a  certain  extent,  over  a  definitely  described  portion  of 
the  earth's  surface,  is  so  intimately  associated  with  the 

201 


TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


idea  of  a  state  as  to  exclude  all  nomadic  tribes,  no  matter 
how  civilized.  The  word  "  humane  "  must  be  construed 
liberally;  but  a  community  of  cannibals  would  not  under 
any  circumstances  be  considered  a  state. 

307.  A  Sovereign  State. — When  the  laws  which  gov- 
ern the  state  are  all  self-imposed,  it  is  then  said  to  be 
sovereign,  or  independent.     The  United  States  is  an  ex- 
ample.    Neither  Vermont,   Kansas,  nor  any  of  the  indi- 
vidual states  of  the  union  are,  or  ever  were,  absolutely 
sovereign,  because  all  the  laws  are  not,  nor  ever  were,  self- 
imposed.     When  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was 
adopted  (223),  the  people  of  each  state  gave  to  Congress 
the  right  to  legislate  upon  certain  classes  of  subjects,  and 
thus  united  to  form  a  new  nation.     Over  their  internal 
affairs  the  authority  of  the  individual  state  is  unrestricted ; 
but  no  one  of  them  ever  pretended  to  have  a  right  to  deal 
independently  with  foreign  states,  and  to  this  extent  at 
least  were  not  sovereign. 

308.  Boundaries.  —  Every  state  must  have  certain  well- 
defined  boundaries,   within  which  its  laws  are  supreme, 
and  outside  of  which  they  cannot  be  enforced.     Some- 
times these  boundaries  are  natural,  as  a  river,  a  mountain 
range,  a  chain  of  lakes,  or  the  ocean.     Often,  however, 
two  states  are  separated  by  an  imaginary  line  fixed  by 
the  surveyor;    but  usually  there  is  a  combination  of  the 
artificial  and  the  natural.     Between  European  nations  the 
boundaries   are   for   the   most   part   natural,    while   those 
between  the  several  states  of   the  Union  combine  both 
features,  the  artificial  perhaps  predominating  between  the 
newer  ones. 

309.  Colonial  Charters.  —  The  early  settlers  of  the  thirteen 

202 


ONE    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES 


original  states  derived  their  authority  to  exercise  the  powers 
of  government  from  the  colonial  charters  issued  by  the 
British  government.  Perhaps  the  most  important  of  these 
was  that  granted  to  Massachusetts  Bay  by  King  Charles  I ; 
for  under  it  the  people  of  that  colony  claimed  and  exercised 
for  years  the  right  to  govern  themselves.  This  charter 
gave  power  to  the  members  of  the  company  to  choose 
annually  from  their  own  number  a  governor,  deputy  gov- 
ernor, and  eighteen  assistants.  They  could  make  laws  for 
the  government  of  the  territory  which  they  owned;  but 
these  laws  must  not  conflict  with  those  made  by  Parliament. 

310.  State    Constitutions.  —  The    constitutions    of    the 
several  states  are  the  offspring  of  the  colonial  charters. 
The  fundamental  law  of   every  state  is  its  constitution, 
which    in   America   is    really   nothing    but   a   law    made 
directly  by  the  people  voting  at  the  polls  upon  a  draft 
submitted  to  them.     Just  as  a  resolution  passed  at  a  New 
England  town  meeting  (81),   upon  a  subject  within  the 
scope  of  its  authority,  is  binding  upon  the  people  in  the 
township  and  the  officers,  so  the  provisions  of  a  constitu- 
tion, adopted  by  a  vote  of  the  people  of  the  whole  state,  is 
binding  upon  all  the  inhabitants,  including  public  officers. 
The  people    can    adopt  a  new  constitution  or  amend  an 
old  one  when  the  subject  has  been  properly  submitted  to 
them  by  the  legislature. 

311.  Provisions  of  a  Constitution.  —  The  constitutions  of 
most  states  may  be  readily  classified  into  five  divisions :  — 

1.  The  definition  of  the  boundaries  of  the  state. 

2.  The  so-called  Bill  of  Rights,  which  is  an  enumeration  of 
the  citizens'  rights  of  personal  liberty,  personal  security,  private 
property,  and  religious  belief  and  worship  (4-10). 

203 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


3.  The  frame  of  government,   i.e.  the  names,   functions,  and 
powers  of  executive  officers,  legislative  bodies,  and  courts  of  justice. 

4.  Miscellaneous  provisions  relating  to  administration  and  law. 

5.  The  schedule,  which  provides  for  submitting  the  draft  of  the 
constitution  to  the  people,  and  for  the  transition  from  the  con- 
dition of  a  territory  to  that  of  a  state. 

312.  Interpretation  of  the  Constitution.  —  If  the  ques- 
tion arises  whether  a  state  legislature  can  pass  a  law  on 
a  given  subject,  the  presumption  is  that  it  can.     This  is 
always  the  case  unless  the   power  has  been  taken  away 
by  some  provision  in  the  constitution  of  the  state  or  of  the 
United  States.     But  it  must  be  shown  that  a  provision  for- 
bidding it  actually  exists.     The  constitution  of  the  state 
is  not  a  document  conferring  defined  and  specified  powers 
on  the  legislature,  but  one  regulating  and  limiting  the  un- 
limited  power   which   it  would    otherwise    possess.     The 
power  of  the  British  Parliament  has  no  bounds,  for  there 
is  no  written  constitution  to  restrict  it.     Such,  however,  is 
not  the  case  in  this  country. 

313.  Miscellaneous  Provisions.  —  All   the   constitutions 
contain  articles  treating  of  schools,  of  the  militia,  of  taxa- 
tion and  revenue,  of  public  debts,  of  local  government,  of 
state  prisons  and  hospitals,  of  impeachment,  and  of  the 
methods  of  amending  the  constitution.     Among  the  pro- 
visions which  are  found  in  some  constitutions,  but  not  in 
others,  are   those  regulating  the  salaries  of   officials,  the 
carrying  of  concealed  weapons,  the  teaching  of  white  and 
colored  children  in  the  same  school.     We  also  find  a  pro- 
hibition of  lotteries,  of  bribery,  of  the  granting  of  liquor 
licenses,   of   usurious  interest,  and    a   declaration    of   the 
extent  of  the  mechanic's  lien. 

204 


ONE    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES 

314.  The  Initiative. — Among  the  latest  additions  to  con- 
stitutional  provisions   are  the   initiative  and  referendum. 
The  initiative  is  a  method  of  forcing  the  legislature  to 
submit  to  popular  vote  for  adoption  or  rejection  a  draft  of 
the  law  which  a  certain  number  of  people  desire  to  have 
enacted.     Such  a  provision  is  found  in  the  constitution  of 
South  Dakota,  which  provides  that  when  five  per  cent  of 
the  voters  shall  petition  for  it,  the  legislature  shall  submit 
the  question  of  adopting  a  law  upon  that  subject  to  a  popu- 
lar vote.     If  a  majority  shall  decide  in  its  favor,  then  the 
following  legislature  will  simply  act  as  a  committee  to  pass 
a  bill  in  harmony  with  the  will  of  the  people  as  previously 
expressed. 

315.  The  Referendum.  — This  means  referring  the  law 
passed  by  the  legislature  to  the  people  for  their  ratification 
or  rejection.     This  method  provides  that,  before  the  acts 
passed  by  the  legislature  have  gone  into  effect,  upon  peti- 
tion of  a  certain  number  of   voters,  an  election  shall  be 
ordered  so  that  the  people  may  express  their  sentiments  on 
any  one  or  more  of  the  laws  passed  by  that  session  of  the 
legislature.      If  a  majority  shall  approve,  the  same  shall 
remain  as  enacted;  if  a  disapproval  be  expressed  to  any 
one  or  more  enactments,  the  same  shall  be  considered  dead, 
just  as  at  present  the  governor  or  president  may  kill  a  bill 
by  veto.    A  local  option  law,  or  a  constitutional  amendment 
submitted  to  the  people,  is  an  example  of  a  referendum. 

316.  Resources.  —  The  revenue  of  the  state  is  derived 
from  the  property  of  its  subjects,  and  is  collected  by  taxa- 
tion (123).     For  its  support  and  preservation  all  the  prop- 
erty in  the  state  is  looked  upon  as  belonging  to  all  the 
people.      In  the  seven  years'  war  which  Prussia   waged 

205 


TRAINING   FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


against  the  combined  forces  of  France,  Austria,  and  Rus- 
sia, Frederick  the  Great  used  up  half  of  the  property  in  his 
kingdom,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  thousands  of  his  sub- 
jects ;  but  this  was  justifiable  because  the  life  of  the  king- 
dom was  at  stake.  Ordinarily  the  rate  of  taxation  which 
the  government  is  obliged  to  levy  for  its  support  is  very 
small,  the  larger  portion  of  the  annual  tax  being  for  local 
purposes. 

DEFINITIONS   OF   "  UNITED   STATES" 

1.  The  corporate  (76)  name  of  the  nation.     The  same  as  was 
provided  in  the  Articles  of  Confederation. 

2.  The  states  united,  referring  to  the  several  states  composing 
the  union.     In  this  sense  it  excludes  the  territories. 

3.  The  international  sense,  designating  the  extent  of  our  do- 
main as  a  sovereign  nation.     This  includes  all  our  territory  wherein 
no  other  nation  has  sovereignty,  even  such  as  may  be  under  our 
control  by  temporary  conquest.  —  Ex- ATTORNEY  GENERAL  GRIGGS. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Time  and  experience  necessary  to  make  good  laws. 

2.  Definition  of  a  state. 

3.  A  sovereign  state. 

4.  Boundaries  :  natural,  artificial. 

5.  Colonial  charters. 

6.  State  constitutions. 

7.  Five  parts  to  a  constitution.    . 

8.  Interpretation  of  a  constitution. 

9.  Miscellaneous  provisions. 

10.  The  initiative. 

11.  The  referendum. 

12.  The  resources  of  a  state. 

206 


ONE    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES 


QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Give  a  short  sketch  of  Frederick  the  Great. 

2.  Cite  another  instance  where  excessive  taxation  was  justifiable. 

3.  What  was  the  fate  of  Charles  I  of  England  ? 

4.  From  a  tax  receipt  find  the  rate  for  state  purposes. 

5.  Compare  the  constitution  of  your  own  state  with  that  of  some 
other,  and  find  some  provisions  that  are  not  common  to  both. 

6.  What  one  of  the  American  states  was  organized  upon  the  principle 
of  a  pure  theocracy  ? 

7.  Mention  five  powers  which  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
forbids  the  individual  states  to  exercise. 

8.  Debate  the  following  question :  — 

"Resolved  that  this  state  should  adopt  the  initiative  and  refer- 
endum." 

9.  What  peculiar  meaning  has   the  word   "definition"  in  para- 
graph 311  ? 

10.   Read  over  the  Bill  of  Rights  in  the  constitution  of  this  state. 


207 


XXVIII 

THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT 


317.  The  Counties   Combined. — Just  as  we  may  look 
upon  the  county  as  being  composed  of  several  townships 
united  for  local  government  and  for  judicial  purposes  (244), 
so  we  may  consider  the  state  as  composed  of  several  counties 
combined  for  general  government  and  for  judicial  purposes. 
The  objection  to  this  view  is  that  it  turns  our  attention  too 
strongly  to  the  machinery  by  which  the  state  (the  whole 
people)   administers    the    government.      This    machinery 
consists  of  the  various  officers  acting  according  to  certain 
laws  which  have  been  established  for  their  guidance. 

318.  A  Business  Association.  —  We  may   also  observe 
that,  like  a  city,  the  state  is  both  a  political  and  a  business 
association.     It  is  its  duty  not  only  to  protect  the  citizen 
in  the  enjoyment  of  his  absolute  rights  (4),  but  to  promote 
the  general  welfare.     Universities  are  founded,  charitable 
institutions  are  established,  prisons  are  maintained,  and 
sometimes  the  state  even  does  its  own  printing,  and  carries 
on  other  business  enterprises.     All  this  requires  a  great 
amount  of  money  to  be  expended  in  the  payment  of  sal- 
aries, in  the  purchase  of  supplies,  and  in  the  disposing  of 
the  manufactured  products.    To  conduct  this  business  calls 
for  constant  oversight,  which  falls  upon  the  executive  de- 
partment (21). 

208 


THE   EXECUTIVE    DEPARTMENT 

319.  Local  Agents  of  the  State.  — We  must  not  commit 
the  error  of  thinking  that  all  the  state's  business  is  per- 
formed by  state  officers,  for  they  are  greatly  assisted  by 
the   local   officers.     The   township   treasurer  collects  the 
state  taxes,  pays  them  over  to  the  county  treasurer,  who 
in  turn  transmits  them  to  the  state  treasurer.     The  county 
school  superintendent  receives  the  reports  from  the  town- 
ship or  district  officers  and  forwards  them  to  the  state 
superintendent  of  public  instruction.      The  election  ma- 
chinery of  the  township  and  county  is  made  use  of  in  the 
choice  of  state  officers,  and  thus  it  is  that  comparatively 
few  separate  state  officials  are  required. 

320.  The  Governor.  —  Although  the  governor  of  one  of 
the  states  does  not  have  as  much  power  as  does  the  gov- 
ernor of  one  of  the  territories  (303),  yet  he  is  the  most  im- 
portant officer  in  it.     The  word  ''governor,"  by  derivation, 
means  the  helmsman  of  a  ship,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
chief  executive  to  see  that  the  "  ship  of  state  "  sails  safely 
on  her  course.     The  duties  of  a  governor  are  civil,  mili- 
tary, legislative,  and  judicial. 

1 .  Civil  Exectitive.  —  As  the  chief  civil  officer  the  gov- 
ernor has  a  general  authority  given  him  to  see  that  the 
business  of  the  state  is  properly  transacted  by  his  subor- 
dinates.    To  aid  him  in  this  he  may  require  information 
from  any  of  the  departments  upon  any  subject  relative  to 
its  respective  duty.     He  appoints  a  large  number  of  as- 
sistants, sometimes  without,  but  generally  with,  the  advice 
of  the  senate ;  and  he  can  remove  even  a  township  officer 
for  a  violation  or  neglect  of  duty,  unless  there  be  some 
other  method  provided  by  law. 

2.  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Militia.  —  As  commander- 

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TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


in-chief  of  the  state  militia,  the  governor  appoints  the 
superior  officers,  including  those  who  serve  on  his  staff ; 
reviews  the  troops;  serves  on  the  military  board,  and 
superintends  the  enlistment  of  men  to  fill  the  state  quota 
as  called  for  by  the  President  in  time  of  war.  His  power 
as  military  chieftain  is  often  of  great  value  in  time  of 
riots. 

3.  As  Legislator.  —  As  a  member  of  the  legislative  de- 
partment it  is  the  duty  of  the  governor,  at  the  beginning 
of  each  session  and  at  such  other  times  as  he  may  deem 
advisable,  to  inform  the  legislature  in  a  written  message  as 
to  the  condition  of  the  state,  and  to  recommend  the  passage 
of  such  laws  as  will  further  the  general  interests. 

After  a  bill  has  passed  both  houses,  in  all  the  states  but 
four,  the  governor  may  prevent  its  becoming  a  law  by  a 
veto,  unless  both  houses  again  pass  the  bill  by  a  two-thirds 
vote.  This  power,  exercised  quite  freely  by  some  of  the 
governors,  often  prevents  the  passage  of  a  bad  law,  and 
always  gives  the  legislature  an  opportunity  for  more  care- 
ful consideration. 

4.  Judicial  Duties.  —  As  a  judicial  officer  the  governor 
may  grant  reprieves,  commutations,  and  pardons  for  any 
offence  except  treason.    He  may  also  assist  the  courts  in  the 
arrest  of  persons  charged  with  crime.     By  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  (Art.  IV,  §  2),  a  fugitive  from  justice 
found  in  another  state  shall,  upon  the  demand  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  state  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  to  be 
removed  to  the  state  having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime.   If  the 
act  charged  to  have  been  committed  be  not  considered  a 
crime  in  the  state  where  the  one  charged  has  taken  refuge, 
the  governor  will  sometimes  refuse  to  honor  the  requisition. 

210 


THE    EXECUTIVE    DEPARTMENT 

In  a  similar  manner,  by  means  of  treaties  negotiated  by 
the  United  States,  fugitives  from  justice  may  be  arrested 
in  foreign  countries. 

321.  Qualifications  of  Governor.  — All  the  states  require 
that  the  governor  shall  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  a  resident  of  the  state  for  a  certain  number  of  years, 
generally  five,  next  preceding  his  election.     In  California 
he  must  be  at  least  twenty-five  years  old,  and  elsewhere 
the  minimum  is  usually  fixed  at  thirty.     He  can  hold  no 
other  office  in  his  own  state  while  he  is  governor,  nor  any 
under  the  United  States.     All  his  official  acts,  except  his 
signature  to  the  acts  of  the  legislature,  must  bear  the  im- 
press of  the  great  seal  of  the  state.     The  governor's  salary 
ranges  from  $1000   in  Rhode  Island  to  $10,000  in  New 
York,   and  the   term   of   office  varies   from   one  to  four 
years. 

322.  The  Lieutenant  Governor.  —  In  case  of  the  removal 
of  the  governor  from  office  by  impeachment  or  death,  or 
when  he  is  unable  to  attend  to  the  duties  of  the  office,  or 
is  absent  from  the  state,  in  all  but  eleven  of  the  states  the 
powers  of  the  chief  executive  devolve  upon  the  lieutenant 
governor.     In  most  of  the  states  this  officer  acts  as  presi- 
dent of  the  senate.     In  committee  of  the  whole  he  may 
debate  all  questions ;  and  when  there  is  an  equal  division 
in  the  senate,  he  may  give  the  casting  vote.     In  case  both 
the    governor  and   the   lieutenant  governor  are   disquali- 
fied,  the   president   pro   tempore   of    the    senate   acts   as 
governor. 

323.  Removal    from    Office.  —  For   corrupt   conduct  in 
office,  or  for  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  the  governor  or 
the  lieutenant  governor  may  be  impeached.     The  court 

21  I 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


before  which  the  case  is  tried  is  the  senate.  A  committee 
is  appointed  by  the  house  of  representatives  to  prosecute 
the  case,  and  both  this  committee  and  the  accused  are  en- 
titled to  counsel.  Two-thirds  of  all  the  senators  must  con- 
cur before  a  conviction  can  be  secured.  The  judgment  of 
the  senate  extends  only  to  removal  from  office,  after  which 
criminal  proceedings  may  be  begun  before  a  proper  court. 
The  senate  here  acts  as  a  court  with  power  to  send  for 
persons  or  papers,  and  the  secretary  of  state  is  the  clerk. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  The  state  viewed  :  — 

(1)  As  a  combination  of  counties. 

(2)  As  a  cooperative  business  association. 

2.  The  assistance  rendered  by  local  officers. 

3.  The  governor  as  :  — 

(1)  Chief  civil  officer. 

(2)  Commander-in-chief  of  the  militia. 

(3)  Legislator. 

(4)  Judicial  officer. 

4.  Qualifications  for  governor. 

5.  The  lieutenant  governor. 

6.  Impeachment. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Make  a  list  of  the  powers  granted  to  the  governor  in  the  con- 
stitution of  your  state. 

2.  As  a  judicial  officer  ought  the   governor  to  act   in   connection 
with  a  board  of  pardons? 

3.  Was  a  governor  ever  tried  in  this  state  by  the  senate  sitting 
as  a  court  of  impeachment? 

212 


AIDS    TO    THE    EXECUTIVE 


4.  How  can  a  constable  be  removed  from  office  in  this  state  ? 

5.  What  is  the  difference  between  a  reprieve  and  a  pardon? 

6.  What  is  a  "pocket  veto"? 

7.  If  one  governor  should  refuse  to  deliver  a  person  charged  with 
crime  to  the  officers  presenting  proper  requisition  papers,  what  could 
be  done  about  it? 

8.  What  officers  constitute  the  governor's  staff  in  this  state  ? 

9.  Could  a  man  born  in  England  be  governor  of  this  state? 

10.  In  what  way  must  a  governor  communicate  his  views  to  the 
legislature  ? 

11.  Mention  some  country  with  which  the  United  States  does  not 
have  an  extradition  treaty. 


213 


XXIX 

AIDS  TO  THE   EXECUTIVE 


324.  Number  of  Departments.  —  While    the    executive 
department,   strictly  speaking,   consists  of  the   governor, 
or  some  one  acting  in   his   stead,  yet   there  are  certain 
officers  so  closely  connected  with  him  in  an  official  capac- 
ity that  they  are  commonly  thought  of  as  forming  a  part 
of  it.     Several  of  these  are  always  specified  in  the  state 
constitution,  and  are  elected,  by  popular  vote;   but  often 
the  legislature  has  power  to  add  others,  who  are  usually 
appointed  by  the  governor  with  the  consent  of  the  senate. 
Each  officer  has  a  deputy,  and  there  are  numerous  clerks 
to  render  such  assistance  as  is  necessary.     These  officers 
are  very  useful  to  the  members  of  the  legislature,  by  reason 
of  the  information  which  they  are  able  to  give  of  the  work- 
ing of  the  state  government. 

325.  The  Secretary  of  State.  —  Next  in  importance  to 
the  lieutenant  governor  comes  the  secretary  of  state.     It  is 
in  his  office  that  the  great  seal  is  kept,  an  impression  of 
which  is  necessary  to  the  validity  of  all  the  official  acts  of 
the  governor;  here  the  original  copies  of  the  acts  of  the 
legislature    are    deposited,    and    here    the    reports   of    all 
corporations  doing  business  in  the  state  are  filed,  and  also 
duplicate  reports  of  justices  of  the  peace  and  sheriffs  to 
the  county  clerks.     The  secretary  of  state  supervises  the 
taking  of  the  state  census,  issues  patents  for  state  lands, 

214 


AIDS    TO    THE   EXECUTIVE 


and  approves  of  the  bonds  of  certain  officers.  He  notifies 
the  sheriffs  when  any  state  officers  are  to  be  elected,  or 
when  amendments  to  the  state  constitution  are  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  people ;  and  he  furnishes  the  proper  blanks 
for  the  election  returns.  This  officer  bears  the  same  rela- 
tion to  the  state  government  that  the  county  clerk  does  to 
the  county  government  (274),  and  on  the  judicial  side  he  is 
clerk  of  the  court  of  impeachment. 

326.  The  State  Treasurer.  —  The  state  treasurer  is  the 
receiving  officer  and  the  custodian  of  the  state  funds.     The 
state  taxes  collected  by  the  county  or  township  tax  col- 
lectors are  payable  to  him.     He  is  authorized  to  deposit 
the  money  with  banks  giving  sufficient  security ;  but  any 
interest  derived  from  its   use  belongs  to    the   state.     No 
money  can  be  paid   out  by  him,  except  upon  a  warrant 
signed  and  countersigned  by  those  duly  authorized.     He 
is  the  state  sealer    of  weights   and    measures.     He  must 
give  a  bond  for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duties,  and 
must  make  an  annual  report  to  the  governor. 

327.  The  Auditor  General.  —  The  auditor  general  settles 
certain  claims  against  the  state,   and    draws    his  warrant 
therefor  upon  the  state  treasurer;   examines,  adjusts,  and 
settles  claims    in  favor  of   the    state,   and   examines   the 
accounts  of  the  state  treasurer  each  month.     He  receives 
and  files  plots  of  towns,  cities,  and  villages ;  approves  the 
bonds  of  county  treasurers,  and  of  certain  other  officers ; 
makes  a  final  report  to  the  governor,  and  is  a  member  of 
certain  boards.     He  apportions  the  state  tax,  and  notifies 
the  clerk  of  each  county  of  the  amount  due  the  state  from 
his  county.     He  has  charge  of  the  sale  of  delinquent  lands 
for  taxes,  and  executes  deeds  to  purchasers. 

215 


TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


328.  The  Attorney  General.  —  The  attorney  general  is 
the  chief  law  officer  of  the  state.     He  is  required  to  prose- 
cute or  defend  all  actions  in  the  supreme  court  in  which 
the  state  shall  be  interested ;  and  when  a  proper  request 
is  made,  he  appears  either  in  person,  or  by  deputy,  for  the 
people  before  any  court  or  tribunal  in  any  matter,  civil  or 
criminal,  in  which  the  state,  or  any  department  thereof,  is 
interested.     He  is  the  legal   advisor  of   each  county  or 
district   attorney,    and   may   be   called   upon   to   give   an 
opinion  to  the  various  state  boards,  or  to  state  officers. 

329.  The  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction.  —  This 
officer  has  general  supervision  of  the  schools  of  the  state. 
He  apportions  the  primary  school  interest  fund,  and  all 
other  funds  that  may  come  into  the  hands  of  the  state 
treasurer  for   general   school   purposes,  to  each  county ; 
gives  information  to  school  officers  upon  the  meaning  of 
the  state  school  law ;  prepares  and  furnishes  blanks  for 
school   reports,   and   may  require   reports  from    city  and 
county  schools  and  from  chartered  educational  institutions. 
The  questions  for  the  county  examinations  of  teachers  and 
pupils  are  usually  prepared  in  his  office ;  and  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  state  board  of  education,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
hold  examinations  and  grant  certificates  authorizing  the 
holders  to  teach  in  any  portion  of  the  state.     He  super- 
vises teachers'  institutes,  publishes  the  school  laws,  and 
makes  an  annual  report  to  the  governor. 

330.  Commissioner   of   Insurance.  —  One   of   the   most 
important  of  the  administrative  departments  in  very  many 
of   the  states   is   that  of   insurance,  which    is  under  the 
charge  of  a  commissioner.     Upon  the  formation  of  a  new 
company  it  is  the  duty  of  a  commissioner  to  examine  the 

216 


AIDS   TO    THE    EXECUTIVE 


articles  of  incorporation  to  see  if  they  conform  to  the  laws 
of  the  state ;  to  make  frequent  examination  of  the  affairs 
of  the  companies  to  see  if  they  are  solvent,  and,  if  they 
are  not  solvent,  or  if  they  are  doing  business  in  an  illegal 
manner,  to  take  away  their  charter.  In  case  of  insurance 
companies  organized  according  to  the  laws  of  some  other 
state  or  country,  he  must  require  annual  reports ;  he  may 
also  inquire  into  their  condition,  and  if  he  does  not  deem 
the  showing  a  safe  one,  he  may  refuse  to  issue  a  license. 
Every  one  who  carries  an  insurance  policy,  either  upon  his 
life  or  upon  his  property,  is  greatly  interested  in  having 
the  duties  of  this  office  carefully  performed. 

331.  The  Railroad  Commissioner.  —  Another  very  im- 
portant branch  of  business  which  appeals  to  a  very  large 
number  of  people  in  the  state  is  that  of  the  railroads. 
The  amount  of  capital  invested  is  enormous,  the  number 
of  employees  is  very  great,  and  in  the  course  of  a  year  a 
majority  of  the  citizens  ride  upon  the  cars,  besides  immense 
quantities  of  freight  are  transported.     It  is,  therefore,  very 
desirable  that  there  should  be  some  officer  designated  by 
law  to  exercise  a  general  oversight.     This  is  done  by  the 
commissioner  of  railroads,  whose  duty  it  is  to  receive  their 
reports,  inspect  their  tracks,  bridges,  buildings,  and  other 
structures  so  as  to  know  that  they  are  in  a  safe  condition ; 
to  report  all  accidents  resulting  in  the  loss  of  life,  and  to 
investigate  the  same ;  to  regulate  the  speed  of  trains,  and 
to  see  that  proper  danger  signals  are  maintained  at  street 
crossings  and  elsewhere.     He  also  computes  the  amount 
of  taxes  that  the  companies  must  pay,   and  reports  the 
same  to  the  auditor  general. 

332.  Administrative  Boards.  —  In  every  state  there  are 

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TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


certain  boards,  created  either  by  the  constitution  or  by 
statute,  to  each  of  which  important  interests  are  confided. 
Among  these  are  the  state  board  of  convassers,  to  canvass 
the  election  returns  from  the  various  counties  in  so  far 
as  they  pertain  to  the  election  of  state  officers,  or  to  the 
adoption  or  rejection  of  constitutional  amendments;  the 
board  of  health,  which  may  even  declare  a  quarantine 
against  travellers  or  freight  from  another  state  (100);  and 
the  board  of  equalization,  which  fixes  the  valuation  of  the 
counties,  of  the  railroads,  and  sometimes  of  mining  and 
other  corporations  as  a  basis  for  the  assessment  of  state 
taxes.  Besides  these,  the  various  state  educational  and 
reformatory  institutions  are  usually  controlled  by  sepa- 
rate boards.  There  is  a  board  of  pardons,  which  makes 
recommendations  to  the  governor  when  convicted  crim- 
inals apply  to  be  released.  Membership  in  these  boards 
is  obtained  ex  officio,  by  popular  vote,  or  by  appointment 
from  the  governor,  with  the  consent  of  the  senate.  In 
Massachusetts  and  New  York,  government  by  administra- 
tive boards  is  much  favored,  and  its  popularity  is  growing 
in  other  states. 

333.  The  Militia.  — Just  as  the  sheriff  may  call  out  all 
the  citizens  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  forty-five  to 
preserve  the  peace  of  the  county  (272),  so  the  governor 
may  place  under  arms  all  the  citizens  between  these  ages 
to  preserve  the  peace  in  any  portion  of  the  state.  The 
former  is  called  the  "power  of  the  county,"  the  latter  the 
"enrolled  militia,"  which  is  armed  and  equipped  at  the 
expense  of  the  state.  At  stated  periods,  usually  once  each 
year,  the  active  militia  goes  into  camp,  and  is  drilled  for 
a  few  days  in  accordance  with  the  tactics  of  the  United 

218 


AIDS   TO    THE    EXECUTIVE 


States  army.  The  soldiers  receive  free  transportation  and 
pay  during  the  encampment.  The  companies  belonging 
to  the  several  regiments  are  located  in  different  parts  of 
the  state,  the  members  are  residents,  meet  for  drill  gen- 
erally once  each  week,  and  are  exempt  from  service 
on  a  jury  (176).  The  state  militia  is  governed  by  the 
state  military  board,  of  which  the  governor  is  a  member 
ex  officio.  This  body  of  troops  forms  a  part  of  the  National 
Guard,  and  can  be  called  upon  by  the  President  to  go  into 
any  part  of  the  Union ;  but  no  member  is  obliged  to  go 
outside  of  the  United  States  unless  he  chooses  to  volunteer 
in  the  regular  army. 

334.  The  State  Library.  —  At  the  capital  is  found  the 
library,  which,  in  the  older  states,  is  a  very  valuable  collec- 
tion of  books.  Its  main  use  is  for  reference,  and  if  you 
wish  to  consult  any  work  upon  history,  law,  or  science, 
you  can  usually  find  it  here.  In  the  law  department  there 
are  text-books  upon  all  subjects,  as  well  as  the  reports 
of  the  decisions  of  the  supreme  courts  of  the  individual 
states,  of  the  United  States,  and  also  of  some  foreign 
countries. 

In  connection  with  the  state  library  some  states  main- 
tain a  system  of  travelling  libraries.  These  are  sent  into 
different  parts  of  the  state  when  the  proper  officer  calls 
for  them,  to  be  returned  after  a  certain  length  of  time, 
when  they  can  be  replaced  by  another  set  of  books.  This 
library  is  under  the  charge  of  a  librarian,  who  is  usually 
appointed  by  the  governor  and  confirmed  by  the  senate. 
As  the  office  is  one  which  requires  special  knowledge  and 
skill,  the  question  of  politics  has  little  to  do  with  the 
appointment. 

219 


TRAINING   FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Number  of  executive  departments;  other  administrative 
departments. 

2.  The  secretary  of  state. 

3.  The  state  treasurer. 

4.  The  auditor  general. 

5.  The  attorney  general. 

6.  The  superintendent  of  public  instruction. 

7.  The  commissioner  of  insurance. 

8.  The  railroad  commissioner. 

9.  Administrative  boards. 

10.  The  militia. 

1 1 .  The  state  library. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Mention  five  steps  in  the  election  of  state  officers. 

2.  How  many  terms  can  the  state  treasurer  hold  his  office  ? 

3.  What  salary  does  the  governor  of  your  state  receive  ? 

4.  Why  should  a  state  officer  be  paid  only  a  moderate  salary? 

5.  In  what  manner  does  the  board  of  health,  or  the  chief  health 
officer,  in  a  state  assist  the  local  boards  ? 

6.  What  is  the  difference  between  a  prison  and  a  reformatory? 

7.  How  does  old  line  insurance  differ  from  mutual  benefit? 

8.  What  pay  does  a  member  of  the  militia  receive  ? 

9.  Make  a  list  of  the  different  school  officers  in  this  state,  and  give 
briefly  the  duties  of  each. 

10.  Give  the  names  and  location  of  the  various  educational  institu- 
tions which  are  supported  in  whole  or  in  part  by  state  tax. 


220 


XXX 

THE  LEGISLATIVE  DEPARTMENT 


335.  Bicameral.  —  The  law-making  department  in  every 
state  but  one  is  called  the  legislature.  In  Massachusetts 
it  is  called  the  general  court.  In  every  state  the  legis- 
lature consists  of  two  bodies,  the  smaller  being  termed  the 
senate.  Generally  the  larger  branch  is  named  the  house 
of  representatives,  but  in  New  York  it  is  the  assembly, 
and  in  West  Virginia  it  is  styled  the  house  of  delegates. 
In  six  states  the  legislature  meets  annually ;  elsewhere, 
biennially. 

The  number  of  members  composing  each  branch  varies, 
Delaware  having  the  smallest  senate  with  twenty-one 
members,  and  Illinois  the  largest  with  fifty-one.  Dela- 
ware also  has  the  smallest  house  of  representatives, 
twenty-one  members,  while  New  Hampshire  has  three 
hundred  and  twenty-one,  which  is  the  largest.  The  New 
York  houses  number  thirty-two  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty-eight,  respectively ;  those  of  Massachusetts,  forty 
and  two  hundred  and  forty  ;  and  those  of  Michigan,  thirty- 
two  and  one  hundred.  A  quorum  consists  of  enough  mem- 
bers to  do  business,  the  number  being  fixed  by  the  con- 
stitution of  the  state.  It  is  always  provided,  however, 
that  a  smaller  number  may  meet  and  adjourn. 

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TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


336.  The  Membership.  —  Both  senators  and  representa- 
tives are  elected  from  districts  having  as  nearly  an  equal 
population  as  may  be,  the  form  of  the  district  being  deter- 
mined by  the  legislature  acting  as  required  by  the  consti- 
tution. The  number  of  inhabitants  in  the  state  is  divided 
by  the  number  of  representatives  to  form  a  representative 
district,  and  by  the  number  of  senators  to  form  a  senatorial 
district.  The  quotient  in  each  case  is  called  the  ratio  of 
representation  (261).  In  some  states  the  districts  are  re- 
arranged after  the  taking  of  each  United  States  census ; 
but  in  others,  not. 

A  senator  is  usually  chosen  for  a  longer  term  than  is  a 
representative.  In  the  majority  of  the  states  he  sits  for 
four  years ;  in  New  Jersey  for  three  ;  and  in  Rhode  Island 
for  one.  Representatives  usually  hold  their  offices  for  one 
session  of  the  legislature,  whether  that  be  for  one  year  or 
for  two.  In  most  cases  the  senators  do  not  go  out  of 
office  at  the  same  time,  a  portion  of  them  being  elected 
at  regular  intervals.  This  is  not  the  plan  with  members 
of  the  house. 

In  some  states  the  age  at  which  a  man  is  eligible  to  the 
senate  is  higher  than  for  a  representative ;  and  in  Dela- 
ware a  senator  must  be  a  freeholder  (129).  Members  of 
Congress  and  United  States  officials  cannot  serve  in  either 
house,  nor  as  a  rule  can  women  ;  but  in  Colorado,  Utah,  and 
in  some  other  of  the  Western  states  they  may.  In  some 
states  clergymen  are  not  allowed  to  sit;  while  in  every 
state,  either  by  statute  or  custom,  a  residence  in  the  dis- 
trict is  required.  No  member  of  either  the  senate  or  the 
house  can  receive  any  appointment  from  the  governor,  or 
from  any  other  state  authority ;  nor  may  he  be  interested 

222 


THE    LEGISLATIVE    DEPARTMENT 

in  any  contract  with  the  state.     Both  senators  and  repre- 
sentatives are  chosen  by  popular  vote. 

337.  The  Senate.  — The  origin  of  the  senate  is  to  be  found 
in  the  governor's  council  of   colonial  times.     It  answered 
to  the  House  of  Lords  except  in  being  a  representative 
and  not  a  hereditary  body.     It  was   supposed  to  repre- 
sent more  especially  that  portion  of  the  community  which 
was  possessed  of  most  wealth  and  consideration.     At  the 
close  of  the  Revolution  a  higher  property  qualification  was 
required  than  for  members  of  the  lower  house.     In  some 
states  they  were  chosen  by  the  people,  in  others  by  the 
lower  house,  and  in  Maryland  by  a  college  of  electors. 

The  plan  of  dividing  the  legislature  into  two  branches  is 
a  good  one :  the  laws  are  thus  more  carefully  made.  The 
senate,  being  the  smaller  body,  can  transact  its  business 
more  deliberately  than  can  the  more  numerous  member- 
ship of  the  house.  Where  the  senators  have  a  longer  term 
of  office  than  do  the  representatives,  the  temptation  to 
yield  to  popular  clamor  for  the  sake  of  gaining  votes  is  not 
so  great,  and  thus  many  bad  bills  are  killed.  The  senate 
elects  a  president  pro  tempore,  who  presides  in  the  absence 
of  the  lieutenant  governor.  As  a  rule  any  one  may  listen 
to  the  proceedings ;  but  if  the  public  interests  require  it, 
an  executive  session  may  be  held  from  which  all  but  the 
members  and  officers  are  excluded.  The  senate  also  acts 
as  a  court  in  the  case  of  the  trial  of  a  state  officer  by  im- 
peachment (323).  The  senate  is  the  judge  of  the  election 
and  qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  may  admit, 
reject,  or  expel  a  member  if  it  sees  fit. 

338.  The    House    of    Representatives.  —  The    presiding 
officer  of  the  house,  who  is  chosen  by  the  members  from 

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TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


among  their  number,  is  called  the  speaker.  This  position 
is  an  honorable  one,  and  although  ordinarily  the  speaker 
receives  no  more  for  his  services  than  does  any  other  mem- 
ber, yet  it  is  much  sought  after.  Because  of  his  right 
to  appoint  the  committees,  and  to  recognize  any  one  he 
chooses  to  address  the  house,  the  speaker  can  do  much 
toward  shaping  the  character  of  the  legislation.  Like 
the  senate,  the  house  selects  its  own  subordinate  officers, 
among  which  is  a  speaker /n?  tempore,  judges  of  the  quali- 
fications and  election  of  its  own  members,  and  has  charge 
of  the  prosecution  before  the  senate  in  all  impeachment 
cases.  Senators  and  representatives  cannot  be  arrested  on 
a  civil  warrant  ( 1 79)  during  the  session  of  the  legislature ; 
but  they  are  subject  to  arrest  on  a  criminal  complaint. 
Members  of  neither  house  can  be  held  accountable  for 
anything  said  in  debate. 

339.  Session.  —  In  most  of  the  states  the  length  of  the 
session  is  restricted  to  a  certain  number  of  days,  the  lowest 
being  forty  in  Colorado  and  Nebraska,  and  the  highest, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  days  in  Pennsylvania;  but  in  this 
state  the  members  receive  pay  for  only  one  hundred  days. 
In  other  states  the  limit  is  fixed  at  forty-five,  fifty  sixty, 
seventy,  and  ninety  days,  the  tendency  in  the  newer  states 
being  in  favor  of  short  sessions.     In  several  states  there  is 
no  limit  fixed  by  the  constitution,  but  even  here  the  length 
of  the  session  is  practically  determined  by  custom  and  pub- 
lic sentiment.     In  all  the  states  both  senators  and  represen- 
tatives are  paid  for  their  services,  the  amount  varying  from 
$i  per  day  and  eight  cents  per  mile  in  Rhode  Island  to 
$1500  per  year  and  ten  cents  per  mile  in  New  York. 

340.  Committees. — A   large   part   of    the   business   in 

224 


THE    LEGISLATIVE    DEPARTMENT 

both  the  senate  and  house  is  done  by  committees.  When 
a  bill  is  introduced  it  is  usually  referred  to  some  com- 
mittee, where  it  is  supposed  to  receive  careful  con- 
sideration. After  a  time  the  bill  is  reported  to  the  main 
body  with  or  without  recommendation.  If  the  committee 
recommends  that  the  bill  "  do  pass,"  the  chances  are  that 
it  will  pass ;  but  even  if  the  report  be  unfavorable,  pro- 
vided a  strong  minority  is  in  favor  of  it,  there  is  still  some 
hope.  A  populous  and  wealthy  state  has  need  of  a  large 
number  of  committees ;  but  the  most  important  are  those 
on  " state  affairs,"  "ways  and  means,"  and  "judiciary." 
It  is  considered  a  high  honor  to  be  given  the  chairman- 
ship of  one  of  these  committees.  In  order  to  become 
acquainted  with  their  needs,  and  with  the  manner  of  con- 
ducting them,  the  committees  on  state  institutions  visit 
them  one  or  more  times  during  each  session,  and  some- 
times the  whole  legislature  visits  the  more  important  ones 
in  a  body.  When  the  expense  of  such  a  visit  is  not  met 
by  the  individual  member,  it  is  called  a  junket. 

341.  From  a  Bill  to  a  Law.  — A  bill  is  the  form  or  draft 
of  a  law  presented  to  a  legislative  body  for  its  considera- 
tion. The  course  which  a  bill  must  take  after  its  intro- 
duction by  some  member  is  somewhat  as  follows :  The 
bill  is  first  read  by  its  title.  This  means  that  the  clerk  of 
the  house  or  senate  will  announce  the  title  of  the  bill, 
after  which  the  presiding  officer  will  say  "  First  reading 
of  the  bill."  The  clerk  will  then  announce  the  title  of 
the  bill  a  second  time,  and  the  presiding  officer  will  say 
"  Second  reading  of  the  bill,"  and  then  immediately  refer 
it  to  some  committee.  After  the  committee  has  considered 
the  bill,  and  has  reported  favorably,  it  will  be  placed  upon 

225 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


the  calendar.  If  the  report  be  unfavorable,  it  may  still  be 
placed  upon  the  calendar  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  house. 
The  bill  will  now  be  printed  so  that  each  member  may 
have  an  opportunity  to  read  it ;  but  nothing  further  will 
be  done  until  it  is  reached  in  its  regular  order.  If,  how- 
ever, the  measure  be  a  very  important  one,  it  may  be 
taken  out  of  its  regular  order  and  given  immediate  con- 
sideration. 

At  the  time  designated,  the  bill  is  discussed  in  the 
"committee  of  the  whole,"  i.e.  in  the  presence  of  the 
whole  house  or  of  a  quorum.  Any  member  may  now 
support  or  oppose  the  measure,  or  he  may  offer  amend- 
ments. This  ordeal  is  a  very  necessary  one,  for  otherwise 
some  very  objectionable  laws  might  be  enacted,  or  some 
very  serious  defects  escape  detection.  The  bill,  if  it 
originated  in  the  house,  would  now  go  to  the  senate, 
where  it  would  pass  through  the  same  course,  and  vice 
versa.  It  would  now  have  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  the 
governor's  veto.  After  all  this  criticism  it  is  not  very 
often  that  a  very  bad  bill  becomes  a  law ;  but  this  some- 
times happens,  and  then  a  subsequent  legislature  must 
repeal  it,  unless  the  Supreme  Court  should  declare  it  to  be 
unconstitutional.  Unless  the  law  be  given  immediate 
effect  by  both  the  senate  and  the  house,  it  does  not  go 
into  actual  force  until  a  certain  number  of  days  after  the 
legislature  has  adjourned. 

342.  Public  Acts.  —  If  you  were  to  write  to  the  secre- 
tary of  one  of  our  more  populous  states  for  a  copy  of  all 
the  acts  passed  at  any  one  session  of  the  legislature,  he 
would  probably  send  them  to  you  in  two  volumes,  one 
labelled  "  Public  Acts,"  and  the  other,  "  Local  Acts."  If 

226 


THE    LEGISLATIVE    DEPARTMENT 

now  you  were  to  examine  the  former  volume,  you  would 
find  that  the  laws  contained  are  of  two  classes:  (i)  those 
which  deal  with  the  relations  between  the  individual  mem- 
bers of  organized  society ;  and  (2)  with  those  which  exist 
between  organized  society  and  its  individual  members 
(160).  Of  the  former  class  are  the  laws  affecting  con- 
tracts, mechanic's  liens,  transfers  of  property,  or  the  em- 
ployment of  persons  in  stores  and  factories.  Not  many 
changes  in  laws  of  this  kind  occur  during  any  one  session. 
To  the  second  class  belong  laws  relating  to  taxation,  the 
speed  of  trains,  the  proceedings  of  courts,  the  incorpora- 
tion of  insurance  companies,  and  to  the  formation  and 
government  of  the  militia.  The  majority  of  the  public 
acts  belong  to  the  second  class. 

343.  Local  Acts.  —  Local  acts  are  such  as  refer  to  a 
single  locality,  or  to  a  particular  individual  or  corporation. 
The  power  of  a  state  legislature  to  pass  local  acts  is  un- 
limited, unless  restricted  by  the  provisions  of  the  state 
constitution.  In  the  constitutions  of  the  newer  states  this 
power  is  greatly  restricted,  Montana  confining  it  to  thirty 
enumerated  subjects.  Local  acts  have  for  their  purpose 
to  detach  territory  from  one  township  and  attach  it  to 
another ;  to  incorporate  a  particular  village,  city,  or  school 
district ;  or  to  pay  a  claim  against  the  state  which  could 
not  be  collected  at  law.  All  public  acts  are  carefully 
scrutinized  by  the  legislature,  generally  also  by  the  news- 
papers, and  all  the  members  take  an  interest  in  them. 
But  the  local  bills  are  considered  to  be  under  the  charge 
of  the  member  from  the  particular  district  affected,  and 
unless  special  efforts  are  made  by  the  residents  of  that 
locality,  he  can  usually  have  them  passed  or  not  as  he  sees 

227 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


fit.  In  many  instances  the  privileges  conferred  by  these 
special  bills  are  very  valuable,  and  it  is  in  connection  with 
them  that  most  charges  of  corruption  are  made. 

344.  The  Lobby.  —  In  order  to  secure  or  to  prevent  the 
passage  of  local  acts,  and  sometimes  of  public  acts,  great 
influence  is   often   brought  to  bear  upon  the  legislature. 
The    term    "lobby,"    sometimes    also    called    the    " third 
house,"  is  applied  to  persons,  not  being  members  of  the 
legislature,  who  seek  to  influence  the  members,  and  thus 
secure  the  passage  of  laws.     The  term  may  be  used  in 
a  good  sense  or  in  a  bad.     It  is  not  only  right  but  praise- 
worthy for  those  who  are  interested  in  a  particular  bill 
to  give  the  benefit  of  all  their  knowledge  concerning  the 
circumstances  to  the  legislators  who  must  vote  upon  it ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  to  seek  to  influence  them  by  the 
use  of  money,  or  in  any  other  way  than  by  fair  arguments, 
is  a  crime. 

345.  Constitutional   Limitations.  —  A    state   legislature 
has  the  power  to  pass  any  kind  of  a  law  for  the  regulation 
and  control  of  the  person  or  property  of  the  subjects  of 
that  state,  except  in  so  far  as  that  power  is  limited  by  the 
constitution  of  that  state  (3 12)  or  by  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.     The  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
expressly   denies    to    the    states   the    right,   among   other 
things,  to  coin  money ;  to  make  anything  but  gold  and  sil- 
ver coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts;  to  pass  an  ex  post 
facto  law,  or  a  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts, 
or  to  grant  any  title  of  nobility.     No  state  can,  without 
the  consent  of  Congress,  keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in 
times  of  peace,  but  this  does  not  refer  to  the  militia.     No 
state  can,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  enter  into  any 

228 


THE    LEGISLATIVE    DEPARTMENT 

agreement  with  another  state  or  with  a  foreign  power ;  or 
engage  in  war,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  immi- 
nent danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay.  There  are  certain 
other  subjects  upon  which  both  a  legislature  and  Congress 
may  pass  laws  ;  but  when  the  latter  has  exercised  the  right, 
any  conflicting  law  passed  by  the  former  is  void.  An 
example  of  the  last  class  is  the  bankruptcy  law,  or  those 
relating  to  naturalization.  (Const  U.S.  Art.  I,  §  8,  9,  10.) 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  The  division  of  the  legislature  into  two  houses;  the  num- 
ber of  members. 

2.  Senatorial  and  representative  districts;    length  of  terms; 
qualifications  for  membership. 

3.  The  senate ;  advantages  of  having  two  houses. 

4.  The  house  of  representatives ;  the  speaker. 

5.  Limiting  the  length  of  the  sessions. 

6.  The  committees  ;  the  junket. 

7.  How  a  bill  becomes  a  law ;  the  committee  of  the  whole. 

8.  Two  kinds  of  public  acts. 

9.  Local  acts  ;  dangers  which  arise  from  them. 
10.   The  lobby;  right  and  wrong  use  of  influence. 

n.    Powers  of  state  legislatures  limited  in  two  directions. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Should  the  speaker  of  the  house  be  elected  by  popular  vote? 

2.  Bills  are  sometimes  said  to  be  passed  by  "  log-rolling."    What 
does  this  mean? 

3.  What  advantage  does  the  bankrupt  law  hold  out  to  the  man 
who  is  unable  to  pay  his  debts? 

4.  From  what  source  does  a  state  legislature  derive  its  power  to 
elect  a  United  States  senator? 

5.  Give  an  example  of  an  ex  post  facto  law. 

229 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


6.  What  advantage  can  you  think  of  in  reading  a  bill  twice  by 
its  title? 

7.  Organize  the  class  into  a  committee  of  the  whole  and  discuss 
the  following  question:  — 

"Resolved  that  the  state  should  print  its  school  text-books." 

8.  Is  the  present  tendency  toward  short  sessions  of  the  legisla- 
ture a  good  one? 

9.  Organize  your  school  into  a  senate;  frame  and  grant  a  charter 
to  a  literary  society. 

10.  Who  is  the  representative  in  the  state  legislature  from  this 
district  ?    Who  is  the  senator  ? 


230 


XXXI 

THE  JUDICIAL  DEPARTMENT 


346.  Purpose  of  the  Courts. — One  of  the  three  depart- 
ments into  which  every  state  government  is  divided  is  the 
judicial.      When  the  legislature  passes  a  law,  difficulties 
are  likely  to  arise  in  carrying  out  its  provisions ;  for  some 
of  its  requirements  may  not  be  clearly  expressed,  or  they 
may  be  forbidden  by  the  constitution.     Nevertheless  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  administrative  officers  to  attempt  to  execute 
the  law  in  accordance  with  what  shall  appear  to  them  to 
be  a  fair  and  reasonable  interpretation  of  its  meaning.     If 
any  officer  is  in  doubt  as  to  the  course  he  should  pursue  he 
may  seek  the  advice  of  the  duly  constituted  legal  authority  ; 
and  when  he  has  taken  the  proper  precautions  he  will  be 
protected  if  he  makes  a  mistake.     If,  however,  the  one 
whose  property  has  been  seized,  or  who  has  been  arrested, 
thinks  the  action  of  the  officer  unauthorized,  he  may  ap- 
peal to  the  courts  to  have  his  property  restored,  or  himself 
released.     The  judicial  department  was  established  for  the 
express  purpose  of  interpreting  the  laws  (21),  and  to  apply 
them  to  particular  cases  as  they  arise. 

347.  The   Judicial   System.  —  An   examination   of    the 
system  of  courts  as  found  in  any  one  of  our  states  will 
show  a  careful  classification,  and  a  regular  gradation  from 
the  lowest  to  the  highest.     These  courts  are  so  classified 

231 


TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


that,  as  the  scope  of  the  jurisdiction  increases  step  by 
step,  the  number  of  the  courts  in  each  class  decreases,  and 
each  class  is  made  subordinate  to  the  next  higher.  This 
subordination  is  to  secure  the  right  of  appeal,  whereby  a 
party  to  an  action,  if  he  thinks  an  injustice  has  been  done 
him,  may  have  his  case  retried  in  a  higher  court.  This 
is  very  important,  for  it  will  not  be  permitted  that  any  man 
shall  lose  life,  liberty,  or  property  by  reason  of  the  unsup- 
ported decision  of  any  one  court.  However,  in  appealing 
a  case,  certain  conditions  are  prescribed,  the  result  of 
which  is  that  the  number  of  cases  actually  tried  decreases 
rapidly  from  one  class  of  courts  to  another,  until  in  the 
highest  courts  they  are  comparatively  few.  One  of  the 
most  important  of  these  deterrent  conditions  is  the  pay- 
ment of  costs.  The  party  who  appeals  in  a  civil  case, 
called  the  appellant,  must  not  only  pay  the  costs  incurred 
in  the  court  below,  but  he  must  give  a  bond  as  security  for 
costs  in  the  court  above.  Just  as  the  township  business  is 
transacted  by  the  township  officers,  so  it  is  intended  that 
the  trifling  disputes  which  arise  between  neighbors  and 
the  petty  offences  against  the  public  shall  be  settled  by 
local  magistrates. 

348.  The  Subordinate  Courts.  —  The  number  of  classes 
of  courts  in  the  different  states  will  vary;  but  there  will 
always  be  three,  and  generally  a  greater  number.  The 
following  is  a  classification  in  the  order  of  their  rank :  — 

i.  The  Justice 's  Court.  — In  every  state  the  court  lowest 
in  rank  is  that  of  the  justice  of  the  peace.  Each  state  has 
hundreds  of  these  courts,  and  some  states  thousands  of 
them.  The  object  is  to  make  them  so  plentiful  as  to  bring 
justice  home  to  every  man's  door.  In  this  court  the  civil 

232 


THE   JUDICIAL    DEPARTMENT 

jurisdiction  is  confined  to  cases  where  the  debt  or  damage 
does  not  exceed  $300,  and  in  criminal  cases  to  misde- 
meanors. As  to  the  higher  crimes,  the  justice  is  simply 
a  committing  magistrate.  It  is  not  ordinarily  considered 
necessary  that  a  justice  of  the  peace  should  be  a  lawyer. 
An  appeal  lies  from  this  court  to  the  circuit  or  district 
court  (185). 

2.  Probate  Courts.  —  Next  in  number  and  in  rank  come 
the  probate  courts,  for  every  county  has  one.      In  Con- 
necticut the  state  is  divided  into  a  large  number  of  probate 
districts,  some  of  which  include  only  a  single  town.     They 
do  not  always  bear  the  name  "  probate " ;   but  to  some 
county  court  is  intrusted  the  care  of  the  estates  of  de- 
ceased persons,  and  of  minors  left  without  parents,  of  the 
incompetent,  and  of  the  insane.     Sometimes  the  probate 
judge  is  given  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction  to  a  limited 
extent ;  in  the  newer  states  and  territories  he  is  often  the 
county  superintendent  of  schools ;  and  occasionally  other 
duties  are  imposed  upon  him.     Appeals  lie  to  the  circuit 
or  district  court.      Lawyers  are  usually  selected  for  this 
office,  but  not  always. 

3.  County  Courts.  —  In  those  states  where  the  county  is 
the  unit  (245),  it  is  common  to  find  a  county  court  with  a 
somewhat   wider   jurisdiction    than    that   of   the   justice's 
court,  but  inferior  to  that  confided  to  the  circuit  or  district 
courts.     In    Florida   there    is   a   distinction   between   the 
county  court  and  the  county  judge's  court,  the  writs  or 
commands  (179,  181)  of  the  former  being  good  in  all  parts 
of  the  state,  while  those  'of  the  latter  are  confined  to  the 
county.     An  appeal  lies  to  the  circuit.     These  courts  have 
in  Florida  jurisdiction  of  probate  matters. 

233 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


4.  Municipal  Courts.  —  In  all  the  larger  cities,  and  some- 
times in  the  smaller  ones,  a  separate  court  (240)  is  main- 
tained  for  the  trial  of    offences   arising  within  the  city, 
whether  for  a  violation  of  the  criminal  laws  of  the  state 
or  of  the  city  ordinances  (237).     In  some  states  there  is 
also  a  municipal  court  invested  with  powers  for  the  trial  of 
civil  cases  similar  in  extent  to  those  granted  to  the  circuit 
or  district  courts,  and  from  which  an  appeal  lies  directly  to 
the  supreme  court. 

5.  Circuit  Courts.  —  Just  as  in  New  England  the  county 
consists  of  a  number  of  townships  united  for  judicial  pur- 
poses (244),  so  in  the  less  populous  states  several  counties 
are  united  for  judicial  purposes.     As  sessions  of  court  are 
held  at  each  county  seat  by  a  judge  who  is  obliged  to  make 
the  circuit  of  his  district  at  least  twice  each  year,  he  bears 
the  title  of  circuit  or  district  judge.     Small  cases  cannot 
be  commenced  in  these  courts ;  but  sometimes  they  may 
be  brought  there  by  appeal.      Jurisdiction  in  civil  cases 
extends  to  the  highest  amounts,  and  in  criminal  cases  it  in- 
cludes the  highest  crimes.     As  the  population  and  volume 
of  business  increases  new  courts  are  formed,  until,  by  suc- 
cessive  reductions,    the   circuit   may  consist   of   but   one 
county.     In  the  larger  cities  several  judges  are  associated 
to  transact  the  business  of  this  court.     Appeals  lie  directly 
to  the  Supreme  Court. 

349.  The  Supreme  Court.  —  In  every  state  in  the  Union 
there  is  a  court  of  last  resort  from  whose  decision  there  is 
no  appeal,  unless  it  involves  a  point  of  federal  law.  In 
nearly  every  state  this  is  called  the  "  Supreme  Court " ; 
but  in  New  York  it  is  styled  the  "  Court  of  Appeals,"  the 
Supreme  Court  occupying  an  intermediate  place  between 

234 


THE   JUDICIAL    DEPARTMENT 

the  circuit  and  the  court  of  last  resort.  In  New  Jersey  it 
is  called  the  "  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals,"  and  in  Ken- 
tucky the  "  Superior  Court."  Louisiana  has  a  Court  of 
Appeals  below  the  Supreme  Court ;  Texas  has  two  supreme 
courts,  one  for  civil  and  one  for  criminal  business. 

The  province  of  the  highest  court  is  to  decide  questions 
of  law,  questions  of  fact  being  left  to  the  petit  jury  (285), 
and  hence  its  jurisdiction  is  chiefly  appellate.  All  the 
proceedings  in  the  court  below  are  printed,  including  at 
least  a  part  of  the  testimony.  If  the  case  be  of  sufficient 
importance,  the  attorneys  have  the  right  to  make  oral  argu- 
ments ;  but  if  the  amount  involved  be  small,  the  case  must 
be  submitted  on  briefs.  These  "  briefs  "  are  short  state- 
ments of  such  facts  as  the  attorney  thinks  important,  with 
references  to  decisions  bearing  upon  the  disputed  points. 

The  Supreme  Court  has  original  jurisdiction  to  issue  writs 
of  mandamus  (289),  quo  warranto,  habeas  corpus  (220), 
and  prohibition  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  its  appellate 
powers.  By  means  of  the  quo  warranto  the  court  can  de- 
termine the  right  by  which  a  person  holds  an  office ;  the 
habeas  corpus  will  deliver  a  person  from  custody ;  the  man- 
damus will  compel  obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  court; 
and  the  writ  of  prohibition  will  prevent  a  threatened  injury. 

350.  Supervisory  Powers.  — The  Supreme  Court  not  only 
makes  ajl  the  rules  in  accordance  with  which  all  business 
before  it  must  be  transacted,  but  it  also  regulates  the  method 
of  procedure  in  all  the  lower  courts.  It  exercises  direct 
control  in  each  particular  case  by  the  decision  which  it 
renders,  and  in  a  general  way  by  passing  rules  for  the 
guidance  of  the  court  below,  and  which  they  must  obey. 
In  an  indirect  manner  every  decision  rendered  by  the  Su- 

235 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


preme  Court  is  a  rule  which  every  lower  court  must  follow 
under  like  circumstances.  For  convenience  of  reference 
these  decisions  are  printed,  issued  from  time  to  time  in 
book  form,  and  a  set  of  these  books  forms  an  indispensable 
part  of  the  library  of  every  judge  and  of  every  practising 
attorney  in  the  state. 

351.  The   Supreme   Judges.  —  A   supreme   judge   must 
necessarily  be  a  lawyer,  and  it  is  very  rare  that  one  who 
has  not  had  a  wide  experience,  and  has  not   attained  a 
high  standing  in  his  profession,  is  even  nominated  for  the 
position.     In   the   various   states    the   number  of   judges 
constituting  the  Supreme  Court  ranges  from  three  to  nine, 
and  the  term  of  office  is  from  two  years  in  Vermont  to  life 
in  Massachusetts.     In  Pennsylvania  the  term  is  for  twenty- 
one  years,  and  in  New  Hampshire  it  is  until  the  judge 
reaches  the  age  of  seventy.     In  the  majority  of  the  states 
the  judges  are  elected  by  the  people ;  in  several  they  are 
appointed  by  the  governor  and  senate  or  council ;  and  in 
six  they  are  elected  by  the  legislature.     The  salary  ranges 
from  $2000  to  $8500,  and  no  judge  is  allowed  to  practise 
his  profession  or  to  receive  a  fee.    The  position  of  supreme 
judge  is  one  of  great  dignity  and  honor,  and  even  the  very 
best  lawyers  will  take  it,  although  at  a  sacrifice  from  a 
money  standpoint. 

352.  Supreme  Court  Officers.  —  The  administrative  offi- 
cers of  this  court  are  the  reporter,  the  court  crier,  and  the 
clerk.     Next  to  the  judge  the  most  important  officer  is  the 
reporter.     It  is  his  duty  to  superintend  the  publication  of 
the  decisions  of  the  court,  which  he  often  annotates,  i.e. 
by  means  of  notes  upon  the  margin  he  refers  to  former 
decisions  by  the  court  in  which  the  same  principles  have 

236 


THE   JUDICIAL    DEPARTMENT 

been  considered.  The  duties  of  the  clerk  of  this  court 
correspond  with  those  of  the  clerk  of  the  circuit  courts 
(293).  It  is  the  duty  of  the  court  crier  to  preserve  order 
in  the  court  room.  He  also  announces  the  entrance  of  the 
judges,  and  when  he  raps  upon  his  desk,  every  person  in 
the  court  room  rises  as  a  mark  of  respect,  and  remains 
standing  until  the  judges  are  seated. 

353.  Courts  of  Other  States.  —  The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  provides  that  "  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be 
given  in  each  state  to  the  public  acts,  records,  and  judicial 
proceedings  of  every  other  state."  (Const.  U.S.,  Art.  IV, 
§  i.)  This  does  not  mean  that  the  laws  enacted  by  one  state 
legislature,  or  the  public  records  kept  by  the  administrative 
officers,  or  the  decisions  of  its  courts,  necessarily  have  any 
force  or  effect  in  another  state ;  for  every  state  possesses 
exclusive  jurisdiction  and  sovereignty  over  persons  and  prop- 
erty within  its  territory.  It  floes  mean,  however,  that  when 
the  courts  of  a  sister  state  shall  have  jurisdiction,  and  shall 
have  exercised  it,  then  the  orders  of  the  court  will  be 
enforced  in  the  other  states  of  the  Union  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  the  state  to  which  the  court  issuing  them 
belongs.  Thus,  if  a  citizen  of  Florida  should  make  a  will 
disposing  of  personal  property  situated  in  Michigan,  and 
die,  the  will  must  first  be  probated  in  Florida,  and  then 
the  Michigan  courts  will  distribute  the  property  according 
to  the  Florida  laws.  But  if  the  testator  was  a  resident  of 
Michigan  at  the  time  of  his  death,  the  Florida  court  would 
have  no  jurisdiction  over  that  particular  property,  and  it 
would  be  distributed  according  to  the  Michigan  law.  For 
the  records  kept  by  a  public  officer  in  one  state  to  be 
received  in  evidence  in  the  courts  of  another  state  they 

237 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


must  be  properly  proven.  The  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  one  state  have  no  binding  force  whatever  outside 
the  boundaries  of  that  state ;  but  they  are  carefully  read 
by  the  judge  of  any  state  court  for  the  suggestions  they 
may  contain. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Purpose  of  the  courts  ;  guide  to  administrative  officers. 

2.  The  judicial  system  of  the  state  ;  classification  of  courts. 

3.  Courts  subordinate  to  the  Supreme  Court :  — 

(i)   The  justice's  court.  (2)   Probate  courts. 

(3)   County  courts.  (4)   Municipal  courts. 

(5)   Circuit  or  district  courts. 

4.  The  Supreme  Court  —  appellate  and  original  jurisdiction. 

5.  Supervisory  powers  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

6.  The  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  —  qualifications,  salary, 
term  of  office,  election,  or  appointment. 

7.  The  ministerial  officers  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

8.  Interstate  relations  as  to  thieir  courts. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  If  in  doubt,  what  legal  authority  should  an  officer  consult  be- 
fore making  an  arrest? 

2.  Is  it  better  to  have  the  judges  appointed  by  the  governor  and 
senate,  or  elected  by  the  people? 

3.  What  is  meant  by  "  court  law  "  ? 

4.  What  is  "  comity  "  ? 

5.  How  many  judges  constitute  the  Supreme  Court  in  this  state  ? 

6.  Mention  all  the  different  courts  in  your  county. 

7.  If  you  should  wish  to  bring  suit  in  the  circuit  court  in  this 
state,  how  large  must  the  amount  be? 

8.  If  a  man  should  insist  upon  holding  an  office  after  his  term 
had  expired,  how  could  he  be  dispossessed  ? 

9.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  domicil "  ? 

10.    What  does  the  expression  "Reynolds  KS.  Adams,  90  111.  149" 
mean? 

238 


Part  V 

The   National   Government 


CHAPTER  XXXII.  The  Founding  of  the  Nation 

CHAPTER  XXXIII.  The  National  Executive 

CHAPTER  XXXIV.  Aids  to  the  National  Executive 

CHAPTER  XXXV.  Domestic  and  Foreign  Relations 

CHAPTER  XXXVI.  The  National  Legislature 

CHAPTER  XXXVII.  The  National  Judiciary 


XXXII 

THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  NATION 


"  Thou,  too,  sail  on,  O  Ship  of  State ! 
Sail  on,  O  Union,  strong  and  great! 
Humanity  with  all  its  fears, 
With  all  its  hopes  of  future  years, 
Is  hanging  breathless  on  thy  fate  ! " 

—  LONGFELLOW. 


354.  From  Colony  to  State.  —  When  the  Revolutionary 
War  broke  out  the  colonists  had  no  thought  of  changing 
their  dependent  governments  into  independent  states. 
Even  after  the  battles  of  Concord  and  Lexington  they 
desired  nothing  so  much  as  to  become  friends  with  the 
king.  But  the  king,  by  calling  them  rebels,  by  forbid- 
ding foreign  nations  to  trade  with  them  (298),  and  by 
employing  the  Hessians  to  subdue  them,  had  rendered 
reconciliation  impossible.  By  the  spring  of  1776  all  the 
governors  of  the  thirteen  colonies  had  either  fled  or  been 
thrown  into  prison.  This  put  an  end  to  colonial  govern- 
ment, and  Congress,  seeing  that  efforts  to  obtain  their 
rights  by  peaceful  means  were  in  vain,  on  May  15,  1776, 
resolved  that  it  was  "  necessary  to  suppress  every  kind  of 
authority  under  the  crown,"  asked  the  colonies  to  form 
governments  of  their  own,  and  thus  to  become  states. 

241 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


This  advice  they  followed,  elected  officers,  adopted  con- 
stitutions, and  thus  threw  off  all  their  allegiance  to  Great 
Britain.  They  did  not,  indeed,  become  sovereign  states, 
because  they  neither  exercised  nor  claimed  the  right  to 
treat  with  foreign  nations,  nor  to  carry  on  war  (307);  but 
as  to  everything  that  pertains  to  the  management  of  their 
local  affairs,  they  then  became,  and  have  ever  since  re- 
mained, free  and  independent. 

355.  Colonial  Unions.  —  The  weakness  of  each  individ- 
ual colony,  and  the  distance  of  the  whole  of  them  from  the 
mother  country,  made  it  very  desirable  that  they  should 
unite  for  mutual  assistance.  There  was  one  union  of  four 
colonies,  one  attempted  union,  and  then  all  united.  These 
colonial  unions  and  attempted  unions  were  as  follows :  — 

1.  The   New    England   Confederation.  —  In    1643    Ply- 
mouth, Massachusetts  Bay,  Connecticut,  and  New  Haven 
united   for   defence    against    the    Indians,    and   to   assist 
masters  to  recover  runaway  apprentices  and  slaves.     It 
lasted  about  forty  years. 

2.  The  Albany  Plan  of  Union.  —  In  1754  a  convention, 
to  which  seven   of   the   colonies    sent  delegates,   met   at 
Albany,  New  York,  to  make  a  treaty  with  the  Indians. 
To  this  convention  Franklin  submitted  a  plan  for  a  union 
of  all  the  colonies  under  the  government  of  a  president  to 
be  appointed  and  supported  by  the  king,  the  legislative 
body  to  consist  of  a  council  to  be  chosen  by  the  colonial 
assemblies.     This  plan  was  rejected  by  the  colonies  on  the 
ground  that  it  gave  too  much  power  to  the  king ;  and  by 
the  king  because  it  gave  too  much  power  to  the  people. 

3.  The  Continental  Union.  —  The  twenty  years  follow- 
ing 1754  were  filled  in  America  with  great  events  of  a 

242 


THE    FOUNDING    OF   THE    NATION 

military  and  political  nature,  and  from  which  the  colonists 
became  convinced  of  three  things  :  — 

(1)  That  American  troops,  when  led  by  a  competent 
American  general,  could  win  victories  even  over  regulars. 
Moreover,  the  French  and  Indian  wars  had  revealed  the 
general. 

(2)  That    the    king    was    determined    to    destroy    in 
America  the   right  of   local    self-government,   which    the 
colonists  had    always  enjoyed.     The  course    pursued   by 
the  king  aroused  a  spirit  of    hostility  which  extended  to 
every  colony,   and  which    demanded  that  such  defensive 
measures  should  be  taken  as  would  render  their  liberties 
absolutely  secure. 

(3)  That  success  in  their  undertaking  could  be  won  only 
by  united    action.     In  the   language  of    South   Carolina, 
"  The  whole  country  must  be  animated  with  one  great 
soul,  and  all  Americans  must  stand  by  one  another,  even 
unto  death."     Fortunately  there  were  at  hand  some  great 
political  leaders,  whose  constructive  statesmanship  could 
devise  a  form  of  government  able  to  preserve  those  liber- 
ties after  they  had  been  won  (227). 

356.  The  Continental  Congress  (1774-1781).  —  The  first 
American  or  Continental  Congress  met  in  Philadelphia, 
September  5,  1774,  and  remained  in  session  about  fifty 
days.  It  might  more  properly  be  called  a  convention  than 
a  congress ;  for  it  did  not  attempt  to  exercise  any  of  the 
powers  of  government,  but  contented  itself  with  issuing 
a  declaration  of  rights,  and  with  making  some  very  im- 
portant recommendations  to  the  colonial  assemblies.  The 
second  Continental  Congress  met  at  Philadelphia,  May  10, 
1775,  and  did  not  finally  adjourn  until  October,  1788,  leav- 

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ing  the  states  without  a  central  government  until  April, 
1789,  when  the  government  under  the  constitution  was 
actually  put  into  operation. 

From  the  date  of  its  organization  until  1781,  when  the 
last  of  the  colonies  adopted  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
the  Congress  had  no  written  constitution;  but  nevertheless 
it  exercised,  with  the  consent  and  active  support  of  the 
governed,  the  most  important  functions  of  a  national  gov- 
ernment. It  declared  the  colonies  free  and  independent 
states ;  conducted  a  great  war ;  assumed  the  whole  direc- 
tion of  foreign  affairs ;  twice  voted  to  Washington  powers 
which  made  him  a  virtual  dictator ;  created  a  national  cur- 
rency ;  established  a  general  post-office,  and  gave  to  each 
commonwealth  an  equal  voice  in  deciding  any  question  that 
should  come  up  for  congressional  action.  These  are  sov- 
ereign powers  (307),  and  the  body  of  men  which  exercised 
them  represented  not  the  states,  but  the  whole  American 
nation. 

357.  The  Confederation.  —  Until  March  i,  1781,  when 
Maryland  ratified  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  being  the 
last  colony  to  do  so,  the  Continental  Congress  had  been  a 
revolutionary  body,  exercising  such  powers  as  the  neces- 
sity of  the  case  required.  In  the  absence  of  any  written 
constitution  (356),  Congress  was  the  sole  judge  of  the 
extent  of  its  powers,  and  there  was  danger,  if  its  resources 
should  permit,  that  it  might  seek  to  legislate  upon  those 
subjects  heretofore  impliedly  reserved  for  state  control. 
To  guard  against  this  danger,  and  to  secure  the  continu- 
ance of  a  national  government  after  independence  should 
have  been  won,  Franklin,  as  early  as  June  12,  1775,  sub- 
mitted a  plan  for  a  perpetual  union,  and  this  idea  finally 

244 


THE    FOUNDING    OF    THE    NATION 

found  expression  in  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  which 
were  ratified  by  all  the  colonies. 

In  this  instrument  the  states  expressly  delegated  to  the 
national  government  certain  powers  which  they  agreed  not 
to  attempt  to  exercise;  reserved  to  themselves  every  power 
not  thus  delegated;  adopted  certain  regulations  "to  secure 
and  perpetuate  mutual  friendship  and  intercourse  between 
the  people  of  the  different  states  " ;  and  made  such  pro- 
visions for  the  support  and  administration  of  the  govern- 
ment as  was  thought  necessary.  The  plan  was  a  bad  one, 
for  it  gave  to  Congress  no  coercive  power.  There  was  no 
separation  into  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  depart- 
ments, but  all  these  duties  were  conferred  upon  one  House  ; 
Congress  could  appropriate  money  to  meet  the  national 
obligations,  but  could  not  raise  a  dollar,  as  this  power  was 
reserved  to  the  states ;  it  could  not  compel  England  to 
keep  the  treaty  of  peace,  or,  what  was  worse,  keep  the 
peace  itself.  In  short,  Congress  could  "  declare  every- 
thing, but  do  nothing." 

358.  Separating  Influences.  —  So  long  as  the  states  were 
held  together  by  a  common  peril,  the  national  government 
received  a  more  or  less  adequate  support ;  but  when  this 
pressure  was  removed,  its  real  weakness  stood  revealed. 
Attachment  for  the  state  was  stronger  than  love  for  the 
union ;  and  the  obedience  which  love  of  country  did  not 
secure  could  not  be  enforced  under  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation. Jealousies  sprang  up  within  the  states.  Mas- 
sachusetts excluded  all  goods  imported  in  British  ships ; 
Connecticut  not  only  admitted  such  goods,  but  imposed  a 
duty  upon  imports  from  Massachusetts ;  New  York  levied 
a  duty  upon  firewood  from  Connecticut  and  garden  prod- 

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uce  from  New  Jersey :  the  former  responded  by  suspend- 
ing all  commercial  dealings  with  New  York,  the  latter  by 
charging  ground  rent  for  a  lighthouse  which  New  York 
had  erected  on  New  Jersey  soil.  Gross  outrages  were 
perpetrated  by  Pennsylvania  officials  upon  settlers  from 
Connecticut  in  the  Wyoming  valley ;  and  New  York  would 
have  waged  war  against  New  Hampshire  over  boundary 
disputes  had  Washington  not  intervened  as  peacemaker. 
Besides  these  and  other  separating  influences,  there  was 
the  ever  present  slavery  question,  warmly  defended  by 
the  South  and  execrated  by  the  North. 

359.  Unifying  Influences.  —  It  was  quite  evident  that  the 
country  was  drifting  toward  anarchy.  At  home,  Massa- 
chusetts was  obliged  to  put  down  by  force  the  armed  re- 
bellion of  Shay,  and  other  states  were  racked  with  internal 
dissensions.  Abroad,  we  were  "  bullied  by  England,  in- 
sulted by  France  and  Spain,  and  looked  askance  at  in 
Holland."  Even  the  Barbary  pirates  paid  us  no  respect, 
but  plundered  our  commerce  with  impunity,  and  sold  our 
citizens  into  slavery.  At  length  the  people  became  con- 
vinced that  a  stronger  central  government  must  be  formed, 
or  the  union  would  fall  in  pieces.  The  passage  by  Con- 
gress of  the  Ordinance  of  1787  —  a  plain  usurpation  of 
p0wer  _  greatly  assisted,  for  it  was  considered  better  that 
there  should  be  a  strong  government  with  specific  powers 
than  that  a  weak  one  should  perform  illegal  acts  to  save 
itself  from  destruction.  It  was  seen  also  that  a  national 
currency  and  a  uniform  commercial  system,  both  domestic 
and  foreign,  were  absolute  necessities.  A  closer  union 
of  the  states  was  rendered  more  easy  of  accomplishment 
because  a  majority  of  the  people  had  a  common  ancestry, 

246 


THE    FOUNDING    OF   THE   NATION 

spoke  the  same  language,  cherished  the  same  traditions, 
and  rendered  obedience  to  the  same  system  of  common 
law  (24). 

360.  The  Constitutional   Convention.  —  When  the   feel- 
ing had  become  general  that  a  desperate  crisis  had  been 
reached,   Congress   recommended  all  the  states   to    meet 
at  Philadelphia  "to  devise   such   provisions    as  to  them 
shall  seem   necessary   to    render  the  constitution  of   the 
federal   government    adequate   to   the    exigencies   of    the 
union."      This    convention,    consisting    of    fifty-five   dele- 
gates, met  in   Philadelphia  in  May,   1787,  and  remained 
in  session  nearly  four  months.     Thirty-nine  out   of   the 
fifty-five  delegates  signed  the  draft,  which  was  submitted 
to  conventions  called  in  each  state  especially  for  that  pur- 
pose.    Thus  indirectly,  but  acting  through  their   chosen 
delegates,  the  people  themselves,  the  state,  adopted  a  con- 
stitution and  frame  of  government  which  Mr.  Gladstone 
once  said  "  is  the  most  wonderful  work  ever  struck  off  by 
the  brain  and  purpose  of  man." 

361.  Constitution  a  Compromise.  —  Convinced   as   were 
the  delegates  of  the  necessity  for  a  stronger  government, 
there  was  yet  a  decided  difference  of  opinion  (i)  as  to  the 
powers  to  be  conferred,  (2)  the  method  of  representation 
of  the  states,  (3)  the  taxing  of  exports,  and  (4)  the  impor- 
tation of  slaves.     The  constitution  finally  adopted  was  a 
compromise  between   those  holding  different  views  upon 
these  questions,  and  is  said  to  be   "the  most  successful 
instance  in  history  of  what  a  judicious  spirit  of  compro- 
mise may  effect."     The  convention  was  divided  into  two 
parties,   called   the   National  party  and   the  State  party. 
The  former  of  these  wished  to  form  a  national  govern- 

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ment  springing  from  the  people ;  the  latter  was  deter- 
mined to  preserve  the  state  system,  and  was  afraid  that 
the  large  states  would  combine  to  swallow  the  small  ones. 
"  The  small  states  did  not  care  so  much  about  the  powers 
of  the  national  government,  or  even  its  framework,  as  they 
did  about  the  absorption  of  these  powers  by  the  large 
states.  Hence  the  contention  was  not  so  much  about 
powers  as  about  the  hands  the  powers  would  fall  into." 

362.  Nature  of  Compromise. — The  harmonizing  of  the 
differences  of  opinion  which  arose  in  the  convention  upon 
three  of  the  great  questions  before  it  (363)  was  effected  in 
each  case  by  a  compromise. 

1.  The  National  Legislature. — For  the   formation   of 
the  legislative  department  three  plans  were  offered,  two 
of  which  were  original. 

(1)  The  Virginia  plan  provided  for  two  houses,  each 
state  to  have  a  number  of  representatives  proportionate 
either  to  its  wealth  or  to  the  number  of  its  free  inhabit- 
ants.    The  states  were  to  have  no  representation  as  such. 

(2)  By  the  New  Jersey  plan  there  was  to  be  a  single 
house,  to  represent  states  and  not  individuals,  and  the 
states  were  to  vote  equally  without  regard  to  wealth  or 
population. 

(3)  By  the  Connecticut  compromise  the  national  prin- 
ciple was  to  prevail  in  the  house,  and  the  federal  in  the 
senate. 

2.  Slave  and  Free.  —  As  the  congressmen  were  to  be 
apportioned  to  the  states  according  to  their  population,  the 
slave-holding  states  wished  to  have  all  the  slaves  counted ; 
the  free  states  desired  to  have  them  all  omitted.     By  the 
compromise  two-thirds  were  counted. 

248 


THE    FOUNDING    OF   THE    NATION 

3.  Exports  and  Imports  of  Slaves.  —  The  free  com- 
mercial states  were  opposed  to  any  tax  upon  exports  and 
to  the  importation  of  slaves ;  the  planting  states  wished  to 
tax  exports  and  to  import  slaves  without  restriction.  The 
Constitution  provided  that  Congress  should  not  forbid  the 
importation  of  slaves  before  1808,  and  that  exports  should 
never  be  taxed. 

363.  Interpretation  of  Constitution.  —  Every  expression 
in  the  Constitution  having  been  carefully  considered  both 
by  the  makers  and  by  the  conventions  in  the  several  states, 
it  follows  that  whenever  any  dispute  arises  as  to  the  right 
of   the   government   to    perform   any   particular   act,  the 
authority   must  be  found  in  the   Constitution.     In  other 
words,  the  United  States  government  has  no  common  law 
power  (312).     Whenever   express   authority  is  shown  to 
perform  a  particular  act,  then  the  right  is  certain ;  but  the 
authority  may  exist  by  implication,  and  hence  the  powers 
of    the    national    government    are    express   and   implied. 
"Take,  for  example,"  says  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  "the 
power  to  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads.    This  power 
is  executed  by  the  single  act  of  making  the  establishment. 
But  from  this  has  been  inferred  the  power  and  duty  of 
carrying  the  mail  along  the  post-road  from  one  post-office 
to  another.     And  from  this  implied  power  has  been  again 
inferred  the  right  to  punish  those  who  steal  letters  from 
the  post-office  or  rob  the  mail."     In  doubtful  cases  the 
true  meaning-  of  any  expression  in  the  Constitution  must 
finally  be  determined  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States. 

364.  Amending  the  Constitution. — The  makers  of  the 
Constitution   did   not   imagine   they   had   constructed   an 

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instrument  that  would  never  need  amending,  and  so  they 
provided  a  way.  By  a  two-thirds  vote  of  both  houses, 
Congress  may  frame  an  amendment  and  submit  it  to  the 
states  for  their  ratification  (315);  and  if  two-thirds  of  the 
state  legislatures  demand  it,  Congress  must  frame  and  sub- 
mit one  upon  any  subject  desired  (314).  In  either  case 
three-fourths  of  all  the  states,  acting  either  through  their 
legislatures,  or  through  conventions  called  specially  in 
each  state  for  that  purpose,  must  ratify  the  amendment 
before  it  can  become  a  part  of  the  Constitution.  In  all, 
fifteen  amendments  have  been  made,  the  first  ten  of  which 
are  called  the  "  Bill  of  Rights  "  (221,  300). 

365.  Checks  and  balances.  —  The  framework  of  our  gov- 
ernment is  so  constructed  that  one  part  acts  as  a  check  or 
a  balance  upon  some  other  part.  One  officer  is  given  a 
duty  to  perform ;  and  then'  another  officer  is  appointed 
to  superintend  the  first  one,  and  to  do  something  besides. 
The  fundamental  divisions  are  into  legislative,  executive, 
and  judicial.  If  the  legislature  passes  a  bad  bill,  the 
executive  may  veto  it ;  if  the  executive  refuses  his  consent, 
the  legislature  may  pass  the  bill  over  the  veto  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote.  If  the  legislative  power  should  enact  a  law 
which  the  Constitution  forbids,  the  judicial  department 
would  declare  it  invalid ;  if  the  people  should  be  dissatis- 
fied with  the  decision  of  the  court,  they  may  amend  the 
Constitution.  If  the  governor  or  any  of  the  supreme 
judges  should  violate  their  trusts,  the  legislature  may 
remove  them  by  impeachment;  if  a  legislator  becomes  cor- 
rupt, the  branch  to  which  he  belongs  may  expel  him,  and 
the  courts  can  send  him  to  prison.  These  statements  apply 
equally  to  state  and  national  governments,  and  so  nicely  is 

250 


THE    FOUNDING    OF   THE    NATION 

the  machinery  adjusted  that  there  is  little  serious  danger 
from  any  one  source,  the  power  being  at  hand  to  correct 
it. 

366.  Federalism.  —  The  political  history  of  our  country 
immediately  preceding  and  for  many  years  following  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  is  filled  with  discussion  as  to 
the  nature  and  extent  of  the  implied  powers  (363).  Some 
of  our  statesmen,  among  whom  were  Hamilton,  were  dis- 
posed to  interpret  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  very 
liberally,  and  were  called  "  loose-constructionists  "  (  28  :  2) 
or  "  federalists  " ;  others,  among  whom  were  Jefferson,  took 
an  opposite  view,  and  were  called  "  strict-constructionists  " 
or  "anti-federalists."  The  former  looked  upon  the  nation 
as  a  state-union ;  the  latter,  as  a  union  of  states.  Under 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  (359)  our  government  was 
a  "  league  of  states " ;  now  it  is  universally  held  to  be  a 
"  state-union,"  with  whose  management  the  states  as  indi- 
viduals have  little  control.  History  shows  us  that  confed- 
eracies have  seldom  been  successful,  the  only  conspicuous 
example  to  the  contrary  in  existence  being  Switzerland. 
The  old  German  Empire,  also  called  the  Holy  Roman  Em- 
pire, was  a  confederation  and  a  great  failure ;  the  modern 
German  Empire  is  a  federation,  and  very  powerful. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1 .  From  colony  to  state  ;  how  far  sovereign. 

2.  The  New  England  Confederation ;    the  Albany  plan ;    the 
continental  Union. 

3.  First  Continental  Congress  ;    second  Continental  Congress  ; 
powers  exercised  by  each. 

4.  The  Confederation,  its  weakness  and  strength. 

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5.  Separating  influences. 

6.  Unifying  influences. 

7.  The  constitutional  convention. 

8.  The  Constitution  a  compromise. 

9.  The  nature  of  the  compromise  :  — 

(1)  The  national  legislature. 

(2)  Slave  and  free. 

(3)  Exports,  and  imports  of  slaves. 

10.  Interpretation  of  the  Constitution;    express  and  implied 
powers. 

11.  Amending  the  Constitution. 

12.  Checks  and  balances. 

13.  Federations;  confederacies. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Read  the  Constitution  carefully  and  see  how  long  it  takes  you. 

2.  How  many  words  are  used  to  establish  the  postal  system? 

3.  What  six  objects  are  set  forth  in  the  preamble  to  the  Constitu- 
tion? 

4.  Trace  out  the  checks  and  balances  in  receiving  and  paying  out 
the  money  received  from  taxation  by  the  state  officers. 

5.  Does  a  man  who  has  no  taxable  property,  but  has  a  family,  pay 
any  taxes  ? 

6.  Are  national  banks  directly  authorized  in  the  Constitution  ? 

7.  How  may  two  or  more  states  be  consolidated  ? 

8.  In  what  way  may  the  states  exercise  control  over  the  national 
government  ? 

9.  Give  a  short  sketch  of  the  life  of  Gladstone. 

10.  Make  a  list  of  five  American  statesmen  who  were  loose-construc- 
tionists,  and  of  five  who  were  strict-constructionists. 


252 


XXXIII 

THE  NATIONAL  EXECUTIVE 


367.  State  and  Nation.  —  It  will  greatly  aid  us  in  the 
further  study  of  our  subject  if  we  bear  in  mind  the  fol- 
lowing statements :  — 

1.  All  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  no  matter  where 
they  reside,  taken  together,  constitute  one  nation  which, 
as  to  those  powers  conferred  by  the  Constitution,  is  sover- 
eign and  absolute. 

2.  This  national  government  exercises  its   powers  di- 
rectly upon  the  people  through  its  own  officers ;  it  enacts 
its  laws,  convicts  and  punishes  its  criminals,  and  collects 
and  disburses  its  revenues  without  any  reference  to  state 
boundaries. 

3.  The  only  elective  officers  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment are  the  President,  the  Vice- President,  the  senators, 
and  the  representatives,  all  the  rest  being  appointive.     In 
choosing  its  representatives  the  nation  makes  use  directly 
of  the  election  machinery  of  the  states,  and  as  to  the  rest 
of  the  elective  officers  it  does  so  indirectly. 

4.  No  state  officer  as  such  has  anything  to  do  with  exe- 
cuting any  law  of  the  United  States,  nor  does  any  United 
States  officer  have  any  power  to  execute  a  state  law. 

368.  The   Three    Departments.  —  The    contests    which 
each  of  the  colonies  had  at  times  waged  with  their  gov- 
ernors to  prevent  encroachments  upon  the  power  of  the 

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legislature,  and  the  importance  of  having  the  laws  inter- 
preted by  judges  independent  both  of  the  governor  and 
the  legislature,  led  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  to 
mark  out  carefully  the  limits  within  which  each  of  the 
three  departments  of  the  government  was  to  exercise  its 
authority.  At  the  same  time  it  was  evident  that  each 
department  could  not  be  absolutely  independent  of  the 
others,  but  that  the  three  must  work  together.  Hence 
was  developed  that  system  of  checks  and  balances  (365) 
which  has  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  the  successful 
working  of  our  governmental  machinery. 

369.  The  President.  —  The  executive  department  of 
the  United  States  government  consists  of  the  President, 
who  holds  his  office  for  four  years.  The  presiding  officer 
of  the  Continental  Congress  was  called  the  President,  and 
from  this  source  came  the  title  of  the  chief  executive  of 
the  nation.  His  duties  are  civil,  military,  legislative,  and 
judicial  (320). 

i.  Civil  Executive.  —  The  President  is  charged  with 
the  responsibility  of  seeing  that  the  laws  are  properly 
enforced,  and  that  the  business  of  the  nation  is  carefully 
conducted.  He  accomplishes  this  through  subordinate 
officers,  who  in  their  turn  are  aided  by  a  very  great  num- 
ber of  assistants,  clerks  and  workmen  not  being  counted 
as  officers  (271).  All  these  taken  together  constitute  the 
public  service,  which  is  divided  into  civil  and  military. 
By  the  "  civil  service  "  is  meant  those  officers  and  their 
subordinates  who  are  concerned  in  carrying  on  the  do- 
mestic and  foreign  affairs  of  the  government.  Here  are 
also  found  the  officers  of  the  courts,  such  as  marshals  and 
clerks.  The  administration  includes  the  President  and 

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members  of  the  Cabinet  (377),  whose  duty  it  is  to  advise 
together  in  the  management  of  the  executive  department. 

2.  Military  Duties.  —  All  the  land  and  naval  forces  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  militia  of  the  several  states 
when  called  into  actual  service  (333),  are  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  President;  but  he  is  expected  to  exercise  this 
control  through  the  departments  of  War  and  of  the  Navy. 
In  times  of  peace  his  duties  as  commander-in-chief  are  not 
very  burdensome,  for  even  the  appointment  of  the  major 
generals   is   made   according   to  a   system    of   promotion 
based  very  largely  upon  length  of  service.     In  time  of 
war,  however,  this  responsibility  is  greatly  increased.      It 
is  said  that  during  the  Civil  War,  President  Lincoln  wielded 
more  authority  than  any  single  Englishman  had  done  since 
the  days  of  Oliver  Cromwell. 

3.  As  Legislator.  —  At  the  opening  of  every  session  of 
Congress,  the  President  submits  a  message  in  which  he 
makes  suggestions  for  legislative  action.     Each  of  these 
is  referred  to  the  proper  committee,  where  it  receives  care- 
ful consideration.     At  any  time  during  the  session  he  may 
also  send  in  a  special  message,  or  Congress  may  require 
information  upon  any  subject  which  he  will  give,  provided 
the  public  interests  do  not  demand  secrecy.     Neither  the 
President  nor  any  member  of  the  Cabinet  may  introduce 
a  bill,  nor  vote  upon  it,  nor  even  speak  upon  any  question 
before  either  house.     Like  a  governor  (320 :  3),  the  Presi- 
dent may  veto  a  measure,  but  it  may  be  passed  over  the 
veto  by  a  two-thirds  vote.     The  treaty-making  power  is  a 
legislative  one,  but   the  Senate,  or   in  certain  cases  the 
House,  may  act  as  a  check.     Here  also  must  be  classed 
the  power  to  suspend  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  (220),  if 

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Congress  be  not  in  session,  "  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or 
invasion,  or  when  the  public  safety  may  require  it."  (Const. 
Art.  I,  Sect.  IX,  2.)  During  the  Civil  War  thousands  were 
thrown  into  prison  by  the  orders  of  the  President  and  held 
so  long  as  it  was  thought  necessary,  without  any  trial. 

4.  Judicial  Duties.  —  The  President  has  the  same  power 
to  pardon  or  commute  the  sentences  of  prisoners  convicted 
under  United  States  laws  as  has  a  governor  in  cases  of 
those  convicted  under  state  laws.     An  appeal  will  lie  to 
him  from  the  decision  of  a  court-martial  in  case  of  a  mili- 
tary prisoner. 

5.  Foreign  Representative. — The  President  is  the  sole 
representative  of  the  nation  abroad,  no  foreign  court  rec- 
ognizing any  other  officer.     Governors  of  states  have  no 
power  in  this    direction  whatever.     He   receives   ambas- 
sadors from  foreign  nations,  and,  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of   the  Senate,   appoints  ambassadors,  other  public 
ministers,  and  consuls.     All  treaties  are  negotiated  under 
his  direction,  but  they  must  receive  the  approval  of  the 
Senate.     The  House  of  Representatives  may  also  defeat 
a  treaty,  if  money  is  to  be  appropriated  to  carry  out  its 
provisions. 

370.  Qualifications  of  President.  —  No  person  except  a 
natural-born  citizen  can  aspire  to  the  office  of  President ; 
nor  can  any  one  be  elected  to  that  office  who  has  not  at- 
tained the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years 
a  resident  within  the  United  States.  Before  assuming  the 
office  he  must  take  an  oath  to  perform  faithfully  its  duties, 
and  to  "  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States."  The  President  may  resign,  or  he  may 
be  impeached  by  a  process  similar  to  that  pursued  in  the 

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states  (323).      His  salary  is  $50,000  per  annum,  which  can- 
not be  increased  or  diminished  during  his  term  of  office. 

371.  Choice  of  President.  —  The  President  is  elected  by 
all  the  voters  in  the  United  States,  but  not  directly  (367). 
The  framers  of  our  Constitution  did  not  think  the  choice 
of  so  powerful  an  officer  as  the  President  should  be  sub- 
mitted to   popular  vote  on  account  of  the  excitement  it 
would  arouse;  they  did  not  wish  to  leave  it  to  Congress, 
because  it  would  make  the  executive  too  dependent  on  the 
legislature.      They  therefore  adopted  a  device  similar  to 
that  used  in  Maryland  in  the  selection  of  state  senators 
(337).     There  is  nothing  in  the  Constitution  to  prevent  a 
reelection  any  number  of  times  ;  but  the  example  of  Wash- 
ington in  declining  a  third  term  has  made  it  practically 
impossible  for  the  time  to  be  extended  beyond  eight  years. 

372.  The  Electoral  College.  —  The  Constitution  directs 
each  state  to  choose  electors  equal  in  number  to  its  sena- 
tors and  representatives  in  Congress,  the  method  of  choice 
being  left  to  each  state  legislature.     Upon  a  day  appointed 
by  Congress,  now  the  second  Monday  in  January,  the  elec- 
tors meet  in  their  respective  state  capitals,  and  vote  sepa- 
rately by  written  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President. 
Three  lists  of  the  votes  are  made  out,  one  being  transmitted 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  at  Washington  by  mail,  one 
sent  to  him  by  special  messenger,  and  one  kept  on  file  in 
the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  at  the  state  capitol. 
On  the  second  Wednesday  in  February  the  two  houses 
meet  in  joint  session,  and  in  the  presence  of  both  houses 
the   president   of   the    Senate  opens  the  certificates  and 
counts  the  votes.     The  person  having  the  largest  number 
of  votes  is  declared  elected  President. 

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373.  Choice  by  Congress.  —  In  case  a  majority  of   the 
electors  do  not  vote  in  favor  of  any  one  person  for  Presi- 
dent, the  choice  falls  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  but 
is  restricted  to  the  three  who  have  received  the  highest 
number  of  electoral  votes.     The  vote  is  taken  by  states, 
the  representatives  from  each  state  having  one  vote,  and  a 
majority  of  all  the  states  being  necessary.     A  quorum  for 
this  purpose  consists  of  one  or  more  members  from  two- 
thirds  of  the  states.     Each  state  may  fill  any  vacancy  that 
may  arise  in  the  number  of  its  electors. 

374.  The  Vice-President.  —  If  for  any  reason  the  Presi- 
dent is  unable  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  office,  they 
devolve  upon   the  Vice-President.     In   case   neither   can 
perform  them,  Congress  has  provided  that  the  succession 
shall  be  as  follows,  and  in  the  following  order :  Secretary 
of  State,   Secretary  of  the  Treasury,   Secretary  of  War, 
Attorney  General,  Postmaster  General,  Secretary  of   the 
Navy,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

The  Vice-President  is  voted  for  at  the  same  time  and  by 
the  same  electors  as  is  the  President.  If  the  electors  fail 
to  make  a  choice,  then  the  Senate  chooses  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent from  the  two  having  received  the  highest  number  of 
electoral  votes.  The  senators  vote  by  states,  each  state 
having  one  vote ;  a-  quorum  consists  of  two-thirds  of  the 
whole  number  of  senators,  and  a  majority  of  all  is  neces- 
sary to  a  choice.  No  person  can  hold  the  office  of  Vice- 
President  if  he  be  disqualified  to  hold  that  of  President. 
Just  as  the  lieutenant  governor  presides  over  a  state  senate, 
so  the  Vice-President  is  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  but  has  no  vote  except  in  case  of  a 
tie.  His  salary  is  $8000. 

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TOPICAL   ANALYSIS 

1.  State  and  nation  :  — 

(1)  One  nation. 

(2)  Powers  exercised  directly. 

(3)  Elective  and  appointive  officers. 

(4)  Separation  of  state  and  national  officers. 

2.  Interdependence  of  the  three  departments. 

3.  The  President,  as  — 

1 i )  Civil  executive  ; 

(2)  Military  chieftain ; 

(3)  A  legislator; 

(4)  Judicial  officer ; 

(5)  Foreign  representative. 

4.  Qualifications  of  President. 

5.  Choice  of  President. 

6.  The  electoral  college. 

7.  Choice  by  Congress. 

8.  The  Vice-President. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Why  will  a  presidential  elector  always  vote  for  his  party  candi- 
date ?    Could  he  do  otherwise  ? 

2.  To  how  many  electors  is  your  state  entitled  ? 

3.  To  whom  would  you  apply  if  you  wished  to  become  postmaster  ? 

4.  Under  what  circumstances  may  the  President  adjourn  Congress 
without  the  consent  of  either  house  ? 

5.  Why  is  it  difficult  to  pass  a  bill  over  the  President's  veto  ? 

6.  How  many  Vice -Presidents  have  become  President  ? 

7.  Are  the  elections  in  the  states  ever  in  charge  of  national  officers  ? 

8.  Can  the  President  hold  any  other  public  office  ? 

9.  How  long  may  an  officer  appointed  by  the  President  during  a 
recess  of  the  Senate  serve  ? 

10.  How  many  electoral  votes  are  necessary  to  elect  a  President  ? 

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AIDS  TO  THE  NATIONAL  EXECUTIVE 


375.  The  English  Cabinet  —  The  President's  Cabinet 
consists  of  a  body  of  men  selected  by  him  to  assist  him  in 
the  performance  of  his  official  duties.  It  had  its  origin 
in  the  Privy  Council  of  England,  and  is  a  committee  of 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  members  of  Parliament  into  whose 
hands  is  given  the  actual  government  of  the  country.  The 
chief  member  of  this  committee,  chosen  by  the  sovereign, 
is  called  the  Prime  Minister,  who  selects  the  remaining 
members.  Each  member  of  the  Cabinet,  being  also  a 
member  of  Parliament,  has  a  right  to  be  heard  in  debate, 
and  to  advocate  or  defend  in  the  house  to  which  he 
belongs  such  measures  as  the  "government,"  or,  in  other 
words,  the  Cabinet,  may  desire  to  have  passed.  This 
committee  always  belongs  to  the  most  numerous  party 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  which  will  generally  support 
whatever  the  Cabinet  proposes.  If  upon  any  important 
measure  it  should  fail  to  do  this,  the  Cabinet  would  resign 
at  once,  and  the  King  or  Queen  would  either  appoint  a 
new  Prime  Minister  to  select  a  new  Cabinet,  or  dissolve 
the  Parliament  and  order  a  new  election.  Each  of  eleven 
members  of  the  English  Cabinet  is,  by  virtue  of  his  office, 
at  the  head  of  an  executive  department. 

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376.  Advisers  to  the  Governors.  —  There  is  not  now,  nor 
was  there  ever  at  any  time  in  any  of  the  states  or  colonies, 
a  body  of  men  whose  sole  duty  it  is  to  give  official  advice 
to  the  governor.     A  governor  of  a  colony,  like  the  gov- 
ernor of  a  territory  at  present  (302),  always  had  a  council 
to  advise  with  him ;  but  as,  in  nearly  all  cases,  the  council 
took  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  legislation,  it  resembled 
the  House  of  Lords  more  than  the  Cabinet.     It  was  a 
legislative   body  with    limited   powers,   something   like   a 
modern  city  council ;  and  if  any  of  its  members  acted  as 
a  confidential  adviser  to  the  governor,  it  was  not  because 
his  official  relations  required  it. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  any  governor 
attempts  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  office  without 
seeking  advice  from  some  one.  Upon  purely  technical 
questions,  or  when  he  simply  desires  information,  he  will 
undoubtedly  ask  the  opinion  of  the  heads  of  the  particu- 
lar department  interested ;  but  upon  all  other  questions  he 
is  far  more  likely  to  counsel  with  those  of  his  political  or 
personal  associates  in  whose  judgment  he  has  the  most 
confidence.  Sometimes  it  is  possible  for  him  to  attach 
these  persons  to  him  officially  by  appointing  them  to  some 
commissionership  (324).  These  men  form  the  "  inner 
circle,"  often  called  the  "ring,"  or  the  "cabal,"  which 
runs  the  administration  (369:  i). 

377.  The  American  Cabinet — The  Constitution  did  not 
provide  for  any  body  of  men  to  be  the  official  advisers  of 
the  President;  but  the  first  work  accomplished  by  Con- 
gress  was    to    establish    the    departments    of    State,    the 
Treasury,    and    War.      Washington    appointed    Hamilton 
Secretary   of   the   Treasury ;    Knox,    Secretary   of   War ; 

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Jefferson,  Secretary  of  State;  and  Randolph,  Attorney 
General.  The  first  two  were  Federalists  (366),  the  last 
two  anti-Federalists,  and  the  four  formed  the  first  Cabi- 
net. The  number  has  since  been  increased  to  eight  by  the 
creation  of  four  new  departments. 

The  President  may  select  any  one  he  chooses  to  fill  a 
Cabinet  position,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Senate, 
which  thus  far  has  never  been  refused.  He  almost  invari- 
ably appoints  men  of  his  own  political  belief,  making  his 
selections  as  a  rule  from  those  who  have  had  large  experi- 
ence in  public  life ;  but  sometimes  chooses  his  personal  or 
business  associates,  and  often  a  Cabinet  position  is  the 
reward  for  political  services  or  for  liberal  contributions 
to  the  campaign  fund  (268).  The  meetings  of  the  Cabinet 
are  always  held  at  the  Executive  Mansion,  but  no  records 
are  kept  of  the  proceedings,  and  the  President  is  not 
obliged  to  follow  the  advice  given,  In  England  the  sover- 
eign is  never  present  at  a  Cabinet  meeting ;  in  this  coun- 
try the  President  always  is.  If  a  Cabinet  officer  wishes  to 
vacate  his  office,  he  simply  hands  his  resignation  to  the 
President,  who  immediately  selects  his  successor.  The 
salary  is  $8000. 

378.  Comparisons.  —  If  we  compare  the  two  systems  as 
here  outlined,  we  shall  see  that  in  England  the  members 
of  the  Cabinet  belong  to  either  one  or  the  other  of  the  two 
houses  of  Parliament,  and  have  all  the  privileges  which 
are  enjoyed  by  any  member.  In  our  country  a  member 
of  the  Cabinet  can  belong  to  neither  house  of  Congress, 
and  can  never  take  part  in  a  congressional  debate.  In  the 
one  case  a  failure  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  carry 
its  measures  results  in  a  resignation  of  the  whole  Cabinet, 

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and  there  is  generally  a  new  election ;  in  the  other  case, 
such  a  failure  would  cause  no  change,  and  no  new  elec- 
tion. In  England  the  Prime  Minister  assumes  all  the 
responsibility,  and  thus  the  sovereign  is  relieved ;  here 
there  is  no  such  officer,  all  the  responsibility  being  placed 
on  the  President.  Nevertheless  the  members  of  our  Cabi- 
net exercise  great  influence  in  shaping  legislation,  as  it  is 
presumed  that  their  advice  has  had  the  approval  of  the 
President. 

379.  Departmental  Business.  —  Though  desirable,  it  is 
not  strictly  necessary  that  a  Cabinet  officer  should  have 
previously  had  any  special  knowledge  of  the  method  of 
conducting  the  business  in  his  particular  department.     No 
President  would   think   of   appointing  one  who  was  not 
a  lawyer  as  Attorney  General,  but  civilians  have  generally 
been  selected  for  the  War  or  Navy  departments.    This  has 
been  made  possible  because  all  the  details  have  been  car- 
ried on  upon  a  uniform  plan  for  years,  and  by  subordinates 
who,  by  reason  of  their  long  experience,  have  a  perfect 
knowledge   of   the   work.     Nearly   all   of   these   subordi- 
nates are  under  the  civil  service  rules  (390),  and  can  be 
discharged  only  for  good  cause.     Each  department  is  sub- 
divided into  "  Bureaus,"  and  all  routine  business  is  immedi- 
ately referred  to  one  of  these,  where  it  is  settled.     The 
nature  of  the  transactions  by  the  respective  departments 
is  similar  to  that  performed  by  the  corresponding  ones 
in  the  states,  only  its  scope  is  more  extensive.     At  the 
opening  of  each  session  of  Congress,  and  whenever  called 
upon,   each    secretary  makes  a  report  to  Congress,  con- 
taining recommendations. 

380.  Secretary  of  State.  —  The  Secretary  of  State  for  the 

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United  States  performs  the  same  duties  for  the  national 
government  as  does  the  corresponding  officer  in  each  state 
for  his  state  government,  and  some  in  addition.  The  Con- 
stitution^forbids  any  of  the  states  to  enter  into  any  treaty, 
alliance,  or  confederation  with  any  foreign  state,  and  hence 
the  whole  foreign  policy  of  the  country  is  in  the  hands 
of  the  President,  who  directs  it  through  his  Secretary 
of  State.  This  officer  negotiates  all  treaties,  issues  the 
instructions  to  our  foreign  ministers,  presents  ambassa- 
dors and  ministers  from  foreign  countries  to  the  Presi- 
dent, issues  passports  to  any  of  our  citizens  who  wish  to 
travel  abroad,  and  it  is  to  him  that  the  territorial  governors 
report. 

381.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  —  Subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  President,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  has  charge 
of  the  financial  policy  of  the  government.  This  depart- 
ment attends  to  the  coining  of  all  metallic  money,  and 
hence  has  charge  of  the  mints  (120);  it  also  issues  certifi- 
cates that  circulate  as  money,  which  are  printed  by  the 
Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  (121).  The  officer 
next  in  rank  to  the  Secretary  is  the  United  States  Treas- 
urer, to  whose  custody  are  intrusted  the  funds  of  the 
nation.  This  department  keeps  a  strict  account  with  all 
the  other  departments,  and  their  financial  dealings  are 
carefully  inspected  by  treasury  officers  called  auditors. 
The  amount  of  business  is  so  vast,  so  varied,  and  withal 
so  important  that  a  great  number  of  subordinates  is 
employed,  among  whom  is  a  corps  of  detectives  belong- 
ing to  the  "  secret  service,"  and  whose  duty  it  is  to  run 
down  counterfeiters,  smugglers,  and  the  so-called  "  moon- 
shiners." The  national  banks  of  the  country  (151)  are 

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AIDS   TO   THE    NATIONAL   EXECUTIVE 

under  the  charge  of  an  officer  of  the  Treasury,  known  as 
the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency. 

382.  Secretary  of  War.  —  Under  the  President,  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  has  charge  of  the  military  affairs  of  the  nation 
in  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  land  forces.     In  time  of  war 
his  duties  are  very  onerous;    but  in  times  of  peace  the 
business  is  largely   routine  in   its  character,   and   is  dis- 
tributed among  the  ten  bureaus  into  which  the  depart- 
ment is  divided.     Besides  the  maintaining  and  equipping 
the  army,  the  Secretary  of  War  has  general  direction  of 
the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money  which  are  annually 
voted  by  Congress  for  the  improvement  of  the  rivers  and 
harbors,  and  for  the  support  of  the  United  States  Military 
Academy.     This  academy  is  located  at  West  Point,  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  the  purpose   of  the  school  being  to 
educate  young  men  from  the  different  states  to  become 
officers  in   the    regular  army.      The  students  are  called 
"cadets."     Each  member  of   Congress  is  entitled  to  ap- 
point one  cadet,  and  the  President  appoints  one  from  each 
territory,  one  from  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  ten  at 
large.     None  of  these  are  admitted,  however,  unless  they 
are  able  to  pass  a  satisfactory  examination,  which  is  both 
physical  and  intellectual  in  its  nature.     The  expenses  of 
each  cadet  is  paid  by  the  government ;  but  after  gradua- 
tion each  must  serve  for  two  years  in  the  regular  army. 

383.  Secretary  of  the   Navy.  —  The    Secretary   of   the 
Navy  sustains  the  same  general  relations  to  the  marine 
forces  of  the  nation  as  does  the  Secretary  of  War  to  the 
land  forces.     As  in  the  case  of  the  War  Department,  so 
here  the  routine   business  is  transacted  through  several 
bureaus,  the  duties  of  the  secretary  being  much  greater 


TRAINING   FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


in  times  of  war  than  when  there  is  peace.  The  Naval 
Academy  at  Annapolis  in  the  state  of  Maryland  is  organ- 
ized upon  a  plan  similar  to  that  of  the  Military  Academy 
at  West  Point,  the  cadets  being  obliged  to  serve  two  years 
in  the  navy  after  their  graduation.  They  are  admitted 
between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen,  and  the  length 
of  the  course  of  study  is  six  years.  They  are  called  "  cadet- 
midshipmen." 

384.  Postmaster  General.  —  Among  the  officers  in  the 
several  state  governments  there  is  no  one  whose  duties  at 
all  resemble  those  of  the  Postmaster  General,  for  the  postal 
system  is  now,  and  always  has  been,  under  the  sole  charge 
of  the  national  government.  This  is  the  oldest  of  the 
executive  departments,  having  been  organized  in  1775, 
with  Benjamin  Franklin  as  the  first  Postmaster  General. 
No  department  so  well  illustrates  the  wonderful  growth 
and  development  of  this  country  as  does  this.  In  1775 
we  had  only  seventy-five  post-offices,  now  there  are  more 
than  a  thousand  times  as  many ;  then  the  annual  receipts 
were  less  than  $27,000,  now  they  are  more  than  a  million 
times  as  much.  In  1816  it  cost  twenty-five  cents  to  send 
a  letter  weighing  less  than  an  ounce  four  hundred  miles, 
now  you  can  send  one  weighing  one  ounce  four  thousand 
miles  for  two  cents,  and  hundreds  of  mail-bags  filled 
with  parcels  of  merchandise  weighing  less  than  four 
pounds  each  are  conveyed  to  all  parts  of  the  country  at 
a  cost  of  one  cent  an  ounce.  In  1864  the  money  order 
system  was  established.  In  the  cities  no  resident  ever 
thinks  of  going  to  the  post-office  for  his  mail,  except  per- 
haps on  Sunday ;  but  his  letters  and  papers  are  delivered 
to  him  by  mail-carriers  wearing  the  livery  of  the  govern- 

266 


AIDS   TO    THE    NATIONAL   EXECUTIVE 

ment,  and  the  free-delivery  system  is  being  rapidly  ex- 
tended to  the  rural  districts.  To  conduct  this  immense 
business  requires  thousands  of  employees,  all  of  whom  are 
indirectly  under  the  control  of  the  Postmaster  General. 

385.  The  Attorney  General.  —  The  department  of  justice 
is  presided  over  by  the  Attorney  General,  whose  duties  are 
essentially  the  same  in  their  nature  as  are  those  of  the 
attorney  generals  in  the  state  governments  (328).      He  is 
assisted  by  a  Solicitor  General,  who  is  the  second  officer 
in  rank,  and  there  are  also  other  attorneys  and  solicitors 
connected  with  the  department.     The  Attorney  General, 
either  personally  or  by  his  assistants,  performs  the  follow- 
ing duties :  — 

1.  He  conducts  all  suits  to  which  the  United  States  is 
a  party,  either  in  the  Supreme  Court  or  in  any  other  court, 
when  requested  by  the  head  of  a  department. 

2.  Exercises  general  supervision  over  all  district  attor- 
neys and  marshals  in  the   district  or  other  courts  of  the 
United  States. 

3.  Gives  advice  in  writing  to  the  President  or  to  the 
heads  of  the  departments  when  requested. 

4.  Examines  titles  to   lands  when  for  any  reason  the 
government  desires  to  purchase  the  same. 

5.  Performs  such  other  duties  for  the  government  as 
the  office  requires. 

386.  Secretary  of  the  Interior. — Just  as  the  State  Depart- 
ment has  to  do  with  the  foreign  affairs  of  the  nation,  so  does 
the  Interior  Department  have  in  charge  the  home  affairs. 
The  business  is  distributed  among  several  bureaus,  which 
are  presided  over  by  officers  called,  with  one  exception, 
"  commissioners." 

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TRAINING   FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


1.  The  Pension  Office.  —  The  Commissioner  of  Pensions 
examines  and  decides  upon  all  claims  made  by  soldiers  and 
sailors  for  pensions  and  bounties  granted  under  the  laws 
of  Congress.     In  the  year    1901   there  were  997,735   on 
the  rolls  to  whom  were  paid  approximately  $140,000,000. 

2.  Land  Office.  —  The  Commissioner  of  the  Land  Office 
superintends  the  surveying  and  the  selling  of  all  the  lands 
in  the  public  domain  (64).     The  amount  of  business  trans- 
acted has  been  enormous  (73),  and  there  are  millions  of 
acres  of  land  yet  to  be  surveyed  and  sold. 

3.  Patent  Office.  —  The  Constitution  gives  to  Congress 
power  "  to  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts 
by  securing,  for  a  limited  time,  to  authors  and  inventors, 
the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings  and  dis- 
coveries."    In  the  case  of  an  invention,  this  right  is  called 
a  "  patent";    in  case  of  a  writing,  it  is  a  "copyright." 
A  patent  is  valid  for  fourteen  years,  but  the  time  may  be 
extended ;  a  copyright  is  good  for  twenty-eight  years,  and 
the  term  may  be  extended  fourteen  years. 

4.  Indian  Affairs.  — The  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
has  charge  of  all  those  Indians  in  any  of  the  states  or  ter- 
ritories that  still  preserve  their  tribal  relations.     Each  of 
these  tribes  now  lives   upon  a  "  reservation,"  which  is  a 
portion  of  the  public  domain  (64)  set  apart  for  their  use. 
Each  reservation  is  controlled  by  an  agent  whose  duty 
it  is  to  protect   the   Indians   in  the  enjoyment  of   those 
rights  which  the  United  States  has  secured  to  them  by 
treaty. 

5.  Census  Bureau. — Beginning  with  1790,  the  general 
government  has  taken  a  census  at  the  end  of  every  decade. 
This  is  not  merely  an  enumeration  of  the  people,  but  also 

268 


AIDS    TO    THE    NATIONAL    EXECUTIVE 

contains  a  great  amount  of  information  helpful  to  the 
business  interests  of  the  country.  It  may  be  compared 
to  the  inventory  which  the  merchant  takes  at  the  close 
of  the  year  to  find  whether  or  not  his  venture  has  proved 
profitable.  The  first  census  reported  nearly  four  million 
people,  nearly  seventeen  and  one-half  per  cent  of  whom 
were  slaves.  The  Geological  Survey  and  the  Office  of 
Education  belong  to  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 

387.  Secretary  of  Agriculture.  —  Previous  to  1889  this 
was  an  independent  department  (388)  under  the  charge 
of  a  Commissioner  of  Agriculture ;  but  it  was  then  raised 
to  the  dignity  of  a  cabinet  position,  and  the  head  of  it 
was  called  the  "  Secretary  of  Agriculture."  There  are 
several  bureaus  in  this  department,  but  two  are  of  special 
importance. 

1 .  Experiment  Stations.  —  In  all  the  states  and  terri- 
tories the  government  maintains  model  farms  to  find  out 
the  kinds  of  plant  growth  best  suited  to  the  nature  of 
the   soil.     These   farms   are   under  the  direct  charge   of 
scientific  men,  who  keep  a  very  careful  record  of  every- 
thing that  pertains  to  the  cultivation,  growth,  and  yield 
of  the  crop,  the  results  being  published  and  distributed 
among   the   farmers.     In   this  way  they  are  enabled   to 
change    the   nature   of    their    farming    operations,    often 
with  great  profit,  and  always  without  any  great  danger 
of  loss. 

2.  Weather  Bureau.  —  One  of  the  most  useful  services 
rendered  to  the  people  by  the  government  is  performed 
by  the  "Weather  Bureau."     All  over  the  United  States 
and  upon  the  islands  of  the  sea   near  the  coast  signal 
stations  are  maintained  where  officers  watch  carefully  the 

269 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


condition  of  the  weather,  and  make  daily  and  sometimes 
hourly  reports  to  the  central  office  in  Washington.  By 
means  of  these  reports  the  chief  officer  at  Washington  is 
enabled  to  predict  with  great  accuracy  the  probable  state 
of  the  weather  for  the  ensuing  twenty -four  hours,  and  thus 
be  of  invaluable  assistance  to  farmers,  and  especially  to 
vesselmen,  who  are  warned  of  an  approaching  storm. 

388.  Independent  Departments.  —  Besides  these  eight 
great  departments  the  heads  of  which  are  officers  of  the 
Cabinet,  there  are  others  whose  chiefs  have  not  yet  been 
thus  honored.  Among  these  are  the  Fish  Commission,  the 
Labor  Department,  the  Bureau  of  American  Republics, 
and  the  Government  Printing-office,  whose  duties  are 
fairly  well  indicated  by  their  titles.  Here  too  may  be 
classed  the  Smithsonian  Institution  (391). 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Cabinet  government  in  England. 

2.  Advisers  to  the  governors  ;  the  inner  circle. 

3.  The  American  Cabinet ;  its  selection. 

4.  English  and  American  systems  compared. 

5.  Organization  of  departmental  business. 

6.  Secretary  of  State. 

7.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

8.  The  Secretary  of  War. 

9.  The  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

10.  The  Postmaster  General. 

1 1 .  The  Attorney  General ;  five  duties. 

12.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior;  different  departments. 

13.  The  Secretary  of  Agriculture ;  experiment  stations ;  weather 
bureau. 

14.  Independent  departments. 

270 


AIDS    TO    THE    NATIONAL   EXECUTIVE 


QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  What   are   some   of   the   duties   of   the   Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  ? 

2.  Give  the  historical  derivation  of  the  word  "cabal." 

3.  Mention  the  Cabinet  officers  in  their  order. 

4.  The  crime  of  smuggling  is  an  offence  against  what  law? 

5.  What*  three  great  statesmen  have  held  the  office  of  Secretary 
of  State? 

6.  In  what  way  has  the  Experiment  Station  in  this  state  benefited 
the  farmers? 

7.  Give  an  instance  of  a  great  storm  foretold  by  the  Weather 
Bureau. 

8.  What  is  a  "  training  ship  "  ? 

9.  Give  in  their  order  of  importance  five  valuable  patents  granted 
by  our  government. 

10.  Make  a  list  of  five  books  written  by  American  authors  which 
you  have  read. 


271 


XXXV 

DOMESTIC  AND  FOREIGN  RELATIONS 


389.  The  Civil  Service.  —  By  this  is  meant  those  officers 
who  are  engaged  in  conducting  the  domestic  affairs  of  the 
nation.  There  are  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  of 
them,  less  than  five  hundred  being  elective  (367).  If  the 
President  is  to  be  held  responsible  for  the  proper  working 
of  the  governmental  machinery,  he  ought  to  have  something 
to  say  as  to  who  should  operate  it.  This  power  is  given 
him  by  the  Constitution;  but  as  no  human  being  could  pos- 
sibly spend  the  time  to  become  acquainted  with  the  merits 
of  individual  applicants,  it  is  provided  that  he  shall  be  as- 
sisted in  his  choice  by  the  Senate.  The  Constitution  also 
permits  Congress  to  vest  in  the  courts  of  law,  the  heads  of 
departments,  or  even  in  the  President  himself,  the  right  to 
appoint  inferior  officers. 

Our  civil  officers  are,  therefore,  divided  into  superior 
and  inferior,  there  being  about  four  thousand  of  the  former 
class,  known  as  "  Presidential,"  and  an  indefinite  number 
of  the  latter.  In  theory  the  President  selects  all  of  these 
four  thousand  from  among  the  best  applicants,  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  Senate  being  to  prevent  any  unfit 
selection  ;  in  reality  the  senators  from  each  state  dictate 
all  of  these  appointments  within  their  respective  states. 
This  practice  has  given  rise  to  the  term  "  senatorial 

272 


DOMESTIC   AND    FOREIGN    RELATIONS 

courtesy."  The  Senate  has  never  yet  refused  to  confirm 
the  nominations  of  the  President  for  members  of  his  Cabi- 
net ;  but,  as  to  his  other  nominations,  he  is  very  careful  to 
consult  the  wishes  of  those  senators  more  particularly  in- 
terested, and  to  make  his  recommendations  accordingly. 

390.  Civil  Service  Reform.  —  As  to  the  appointment  of 
the  inferior  officers,  there  are  two  systems,  — the  "  merit  " 
and  the  "  spoils."  The  theory  of  the  first  is  that  no  one 
should  hold  an  office  who  is  not  competent  to  fill  it,  and 
that  he  should  be  retained  only  so  long  as  he  is  able  to  dis- 
charge its  duties  satisfactorily.  The  second  theory  holds 
"  that  to  the  victor  belong  the  spoils."  Under  the  early 
administrations  few  removals  were  made  except  for  cause ; 
but  after  1828  it  became  the  practice,  whenever  a  new 
party  went  into  power,  to  discharge  all  the  old  office- 
holders, and  to  replace  them  with  those  who  agreed  in 
politics  with  the  new  party.  These  officers  were  then  ex- 
pected to  pay  a  percentage  of  their  salaries  toward  creat- 
ing a  campaign  fund  (268)  to  secure  the  success  of  their 
party  at  the  next  election.  Thus  the  offices,  instead  of 
being  looked  upon  as  a  public  trust,  were  considered  as  so 
much  plunder  to  be  divided  among  the  party  workers ; 
men  were  appointed  without  reference  to  their  fitness ;  and 
the  public  service  was  greatly  injured. 

Civil  service  reform  aims  to  correct  these  abuses.  In 
1883  Congress  passed  a  law  dividing  these  inferior  offices 
into  "classified"  and  "  unclassified ";  it  created  a  com- 
mission consisting  of  three  members,  and  required  all  the 
candidates  for  any  of  the  classified  offices  to  pass  a  com- 
petitive examination  upon  questions  prepared  by  this 
commission.  These  examinations  are  held  at  the  custom 

273 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


houses,  post-offices,  and  other  places  in  the  various  states, 
and  any  one  who  wishes  may  take  them.  When  a  vacancy 
occurs,  the  one  holding  the  highest  percentage  is  chosen. 

391.  Education.  — The  national  government  has  no  sys- 
tem of  education,  this  being  left  to  the  states.  The  Office 
of  Education  is  a  bureau  in  the  Department  of  the  Interior, 
and  the  chief  officer  is  called  the  Commissioner  of  Educa- 
tion. The  principal  duty  of  this  bureau  is  to  gather  infor- 
mation as  to  the  school  systems  of  this  and  foreign  nations 
and  to  publish  it  in  an  annual  report,  which  is  sent  to  all 
the  larger  educational  institutions  of  the  country.  For  the 
establishment  and  support  of  agricultural  experiment  sta- 
tions, Congress  has  appropriated  $15,000  annually  to  each 
state  and  territory  which  maintains  an  agricultural  college, 
or  an  agricultural  department  in  some  other  college  or 
university. 

1.  Smithsonian  Institution.  —  In  1835  the  United  States 
government  came  into  possession  of  $515,169,  which  was 
willed  to  it  by  James  Smithson,  a  British  subject,  to  found 
an  institution  for  "  the  increase  and  diffusion  of  knowledge 
among  men."     With  these  funds  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion was  founded  by  Congress  in  1846,  the  President  of 
the  United  States  being  the  chairman  of  its.  board  of  di- 
rectors.    It  seeks  to  carry  out  the  purpose  for  which  it 
was  founded  mainly  by  its  publications,  which  are  of  great 
value  and  widely  distributed.      Connected  with  this  and 
under  the  same   management  are  the  National  Museum 
and  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 

2.  Indian   Schools.  —  While    the   national    government 
does  not  maintain  a  national  system  of  schools,  yet  it  does 
provide  liberally  for  the  education  of  Indian  children,  who 

274 


DOMESTIC   AND   FOREIGN    RELATIONS 

are  looked  upon  as  its  wards.  Located  at  different  points 
on  the  reservation,  which  is  sometimes  hundreds  of  miles 
in  extent,  are  small  schools  corresponding  to  those  in  the 
rural  districts  of  the  states.  At  the  headquarters  of  the 
agency  there  are  larger  ones  to  which  children  are  ad- 
mitted from  all  parts  of  the  reservation,  and  where  they 
are  clothed,  fed,  and  taught  at  government  expense. 
These  may  be  compared  to  the  ward  schools  in  the  cities. 
The  government  also  maintains  higher  schools,  as  at 
Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  and  Phoenix,  Arizona,  into  which 
are  gathered  the  more  promising  children  from  the  reser- 
vations. In  all  of  these  the  pupils  are  taught  how  to  read 
and  speak  English,  but  special  attention  is  given  to  teach- 
ing them  how  to  work.  The  boys  learn  to  be  farmers, 
carpenters,  printers,  or  to  follow  almost  any  occupation 
which  may  afford  them  a  living  in  after  years,  while  the 
girls  are  taught  dressmaking  and  domestic  economy. 

392.  Public  International  Relations.  — The  United  States 
is  only  one  of  a  large  number  of  nations,  each  of  which  is 
independent  of  the  other  in  somewhat  the  same  way  as  are 
individual  families  (33).  But  just  as  the  latter  are  bound 
together  by  national  law,  so  are  the  nations  of  the  earth 
united  by  international  law  (160),  the  basis  of  both  kinds 
being  custom.  International  laws  are  either  public  or 
private  in  their  nature,  the  former  treating  of  the  political 
rights  which  each  state  shall  enjoy  as  one  of  a  community 
of  nations.  It  includes  the  settlement  of  claims  between 
individual  nations;  but  is  chiefly  concerned  with  the 
duties  of  neutral  nations  in  time  of  war,  the  treatment  of 
prisoners,  the  ownership  and  preservation  of  property 
upon  the  high  seas,  and  it  prescribes  the  forms  which 

275 


TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


shall  regulate  the  conduct  of  nations  in  their  intercourse 
with  each  other.  There  is  no  permanent  international 
legislature;  but  a  temporary  one  composed  of  delegates 
from  each  of  the  great  nations  may  be  called  into  existence 
when  occasion  requires.  Such  was  the  Congress  of  Vienna 
which  rearranged  the  map  of  Europe  after  the  defeat  of 
Napoleon  at  Waterloo.  The  chief  sources  of  international 
law  are  the  decisions  of  international  courts  created  for  a 
special  purpose,  the  Roman  law,  and  the  works  of  text- 
writers.  The  executive  department  consists  of  an  inter- 
national military  force,  some  troops  being  contributed  by 
each  nation,  and  the  whole  placed  under  the  command  of 
one  general,  as  in  the  Chinese  War  in  1900.  There  is  no 
permanent  international  judiciary;  but  disputed  claims  be- 
tween nations  are  often  submitted  to  courts  of  arbitration. 

393.  Private  International  Law.  —  Private  international 
law  treats  of  the  civil  rights  which  the  subjects  of  one 
nation  shall  enjoy  within  the  territories  of  another.  These 
are  regulated  to  a  certain  extent  by  custom,  but  more  par- 
ticularly by  treaties,  which  are  agreements  entered  into  by 
two  or  more  nations.  The  right  to  make  a  treaty  belongs 
to  a  sovereign  state  (307),  and  hence  is  denied  to  the  states 
of  the  union.  The  President  negotiates  all  treaties  in  this 
country  through  the  Department  of  State,  but  they  must 
be  approved  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  Senate  (369). 
The  House  of  Representatives  may  also  defeat  a  treaty,  if 
money  is  to  oe  appropriated  to  carry  out  its  provisions. 
Whenever  a  state  law  conflicts  with  a  treaty  it  is  void. 

I.  The  Diplomatic  Service  consists  of  those  officers  whose 
duty  it  is  to  transact  .business  between  this  and  foreign 
countries.  The  highest  in  rank  is  called  an  Ambassador ; 

276 


DOMESTIC    AND    FOREIGN    RELATIONS 

the  second,  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary; and  the  third,  Minister  Resident.  Quite  generally 
the  term  " minister"  is  applied  to  all  three.  These  officers 
receive  from  $10,000  to  $17,500,  the  latter  sum  being  paid 
only  at  Paris,  London,  St.  Petersburg,  and  Berlin.  The 
President  receives  all  foreign  ministers  (380),  and  ours  are 
presented  to  the  king,  queen,  or  chief  ruler  of  the  nation 
to  which  they  are  sent.  Each  minister's  official  family, 
called  the  legation,  consists  of  a  secretary  and  such  clerks 
as  may  be  deemed  necessary.  The  minister,  acting  under 
the  direction  of  the  State  Department,  assists  in  negotiat- 
ing treaties,  looks  after  the  interests  of  American  citizens, 
and  seeks  to  promote  friendly  relations  with  the  government. 

2.  The  Consular  Service  is  organized  to  enforce  the  com- 
mercial laws,  to  protect  the  rights  of  American  citizens, 
and  to  assist  our  commercial,  manufacturing,  and  agricul- 
tural interests  by  giving  to  the  State  Department  such 
information  as  will  aid  in  introducing  our  products  into 
foreign  countries.  There  are  about  thirty  consuls  general, 
some  of  whom  are  ministers  resident,  and  over  three  hun- 
dred consuls.  They  are  stationed  at  the  chief  seaports,  take 
charge  of  the  estates  of  American  citizens  dying  abroad, 
and  look  after  the  interests  of  American  vessels  and  sea- 
men. In  China,  Turkey,  and  in  those  countries  where  the 
administration  of  justice  does  not  accord  with  our  ideas  of 
fairness,  the  consul  also  acts  as  a  magistrate  having  both 
civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction.  Elsewhere  such  matters  are 
intrusted  to  the  courts  of  the  country. 

394.  The  Army.  —  No  government  would  be  able  to  pre- 
serve domestic  tranquillity,  nor  command  the  respect  of 
other  nations,  if  it  could  not  repress  disorder  at  home  and 

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make  war  upon  any  nation  which  should  trespass  upon 
the  rights  of  its  citizens.  To  accomplish  this  the  United 
States  possesses  a  military  establishment  consisting  of  an 
army  and  a  navy. 

1.  The  Regular  Army  consists  of  fifteen  regiments  of 
cavalry,  thirty  regiments  of  infantry,  thirty  batteries  of  field 
artillery,  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  companies  of  coast 
artillery,  and  three  battalions  of  engineers.     The  enlisted 
men  in  two  regiments  of  infantry  and  two  of  cavalry  are 
colored.     Up  to  the  time  of  the  Spanish- American  War  the 
number  of  enlisted  men  in  the  army  could  not  exceed  thirty 
thousand,  but  the  limit  has  been  increased  to  one  hundred 
thousand.      All  enlistments  are  for  a  term  of  five  years. 
Recruits  on  entering  the  army  for  the  first  time  must  be 
effective,  able-bodied  men,  and  between  the  ages  of  sixteen 
and  thirty-five  years  at  the  time  of  their  enlistment;  but 
this  limitation  as  to  age  does  not  apply  to  soldiers  who  re- 
enlist.     Minors  under  the  age  of  sixteen,  insane  or  intoxi- 
cated persons,  deserters  from  the  military  service  of  the 
United  States,  and  criminals,  will  not  be  accepted.     No 
minor  over  sixteen  will  be  mustered  in  without  the  consent 
of  his  parents  or  guardians,  provided  he  has  such  parents 
or  guardians  entitled  to  his  custody  or  control. 

2.  Military  Rank  is  that  character  or  quality  bestowed 
upon  military  persons  which  marks  their  station,  and  gives 
them  the  right  to  exercise  military  control  within  the  limits 
prescribed  by  law.    As  to  their  rank,  members  of  the  army 
are  divided  into  commissioned  officers,  non-commissioned 
officers,  and  musicians,  artificers,  and  privates.     The  term 
"  officer  "  includes  only  commissioned  officers,  all  the  rest 
being  called  "  soldiers."    The  highest  officer  is  the  "  general 

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DOMESTIC   AND    FOREIGN    RELATIONS 

of  the  army,"  and  the  lowest  in  rank  is  the  second  lieu- 
tenant. The  corporal  holds  the  lowest  rank  as  a  non-com- 
missioned officer.  The  pay  of  the  general  of  the  army  is 
$13,500  per  annum,  while  the  private  receives  $13  per 
month  during  the  first  year  of  his  enlistment.  The  pay  of 
those  holding  intermediate  ranks  is  found  between  these 
two  sums. 

3.  Bureau  of  Military  Justice.  —  This  consists  of  one 
judge  advocate  general,  with  the  rank  of  brigadier  general, 
and    one  assistant,  with   the  rank   of   colonel  of  cavalry. 
There  are  also  eight  judge  advocates  of  the  army,  with  the 
rank  of  major  of  cavalry,  who  perform  their  duties  under 
the  direction  of  the  judge  advocate  general.    Courts-martial, 
or  military  courts,  are  of  two  kinds,  —  general  and  regi- 
mental, or  garrison.     Capital  offences  are  tried  by  general 
courts-martial,  which  consist  of  not  less  than  five  nor  more 
than  thirteen  members ;  but  a  soldier  for  an  offence  not 
capital  may  be  tried  by  a  garrison  court-martial  consisting 
of  three  members.     In  time  of  war  soldiers  charged  with 
offences  not  capital  are  tried  by  a  field  officer  detailed  for 
that  purpose.     A  military  prison  is  maintained  by  the  gov- 
ernment at  Rock  Island,  Illinois. 

4.  Educational.  —  The    United    States    is   divided    into 
territorial  departments,  each  of  which  is  under  the  com- 
mand   of   a   major    general    assigned    by   the    President. 
Within  these  territorial  divisions  are  "  posts "  established 
by  the  Secretary  of  War,  each  of  which  is  garrisoned  by  one 
or  more  companies  of  soldiers.     Practical  and  theoretical 
instruction  is  given  to  the  officers  in  the  science  and  art  of 
war ;  post  schools  are  organized  for  the  enlisted  men,  the 
school  terms  aggregating  not  less  than  four  months  each 

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year,  the  teachers  being  appointed  by  the  commanding 
officer,  and  the  branches  taught  being  such  as  can  he 
pursued  with  profit.  Schools  for  the  instruction  of  the 
children  of  the  officers  and  of  the  enlisted  men  are  also 
organized  when  there  are  no  convenient  educational  privi- 
leges. Libraries  and  reading  rooms  are  also  furnished, 
and  the  soldiers  are  encouraged  to  erect  buildings  for 
bowling  alleys  and  other  amusements.  Service  schools 
are  maintained  as  follows :  An  artillery  school  at  Fort 
Monroe,  Virginia ;  an  infantry  and  cavalry  school  at  Fort 
Leavenworth,  Kansas;  a  cavalry  and  light  artillery  school 
at  Fort  Riley,  Kansas ;  and  a  medical  school  at  Washing- 
ton, D.C.  The  chief  training  school  is  the  military 
academy  at  West  Point,  New  York  (382),  to  which  cadets 
are  admitted  between  the  ages  of  seventeen  and  twenty- 
two  years. 

395.  The  Navy.  —  The  navy  of  the  United  States  is 
organized  upon  a  plan  similar  to  that  of  the  army.  The 
officers  are  divided  into  three  classes,  —  line,  warrant,  and 
petty.  There  are  eleven  ranks  in  the  officers  of  the  line, 
the  highest  being  that  of  admiral,  corresponding  to  that  of 
general  of  the  army,  and  the  lowest  being  the  midship- 
man. The  ensign,  who  is  next  in  rank  above  the  mid- 
shipman, corresponds  to  the  second  lieutenant  in  the 
army.  After  five  years'  service  the  President  may  ap- 
point boatswains,  gunners,  carpenters,  and  sailmakers  to 
a  rank  equal  to  ensigns ;  and  after  ten  years'  service  to  a 
rank  equal  to  that  of  master,  or  first  lieutenant  in  the 
army.  These  are  called  "  warrant  officers."  All  others 
are  termed  "  petty  officers."  The  admiral  receives  $13,000 
per  annum,  and  the  midshipman  $1000  when  at  sea  and 

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DOMESTIC    AND    FOREIGN    RELATIONS 

$800  when  on  shore  duty.  The  cadet-midshipman  re- 
ceives $500  (383).  The  pay  of  petty  officers,  seamen,  and 
others  is  fixed  by  the  President,  but  the  aggregate  amount 
must  not  exceed  the  appropriation.  The  marine  corps  is 
a  body  of  troops  specially  trained  for  military  duty  on 
shipboard. 

For  the  construction  and  repair  of  war  vessels  the  gov- 
ernment maintains  shipyards,  and  also  arsenals  for  the 
storage  of  arms  and  ammunition.  The  total  number  of  ves- 
sels constituting  the  navy  is  divided  into  squadrons,  which 
are  assigned  to  duty  in  various  parts  of  the  world.  Each 
squadron  is  under  the  command  of  a  line  officer  not  lower 
in  rank  than  a  commander,  who  is  next  below  a  captain. 
He  receives  his  appointment  from  the  President  and  has 
the  title  of  "  flag-officer."  The  discipline  in  the  naval 
service  is  necessarily  more  strict  than  in  the  army,  and 
every  one  must  yield  implicit  obedience  to  the  captain  of  a 
ship.  Line  and  warrant  officers  can  only  be  confined  for 
a  period  of  ten  days,  unless  a  longer  period  is  necessary  to 
bring  the  case  before  a  court-martial;  but  petty  officers 
and  others  may  be  imprisoned  in  irons,  placed  in  solitary 
confinement  for  seven  days,  or  given  extra  duties. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1 .  The  civil  service  ;  superior  and  inferior  officers. 

2.  Civil  service  reform  ;  the  classified  service. 

3.  No  national  system  of  education ;  Smithsonian  Institution  ; 
Indian  schools. 

4.  Public  international  relations. 

5.  Private  international  law;  the  diplomatic  service;  the  con- 
sular service. 

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6.  The  army  ;  its  composition  ;  military  rank  ;  bureau  of  mili- 
tary justice ;  educational  features. 

7.  The  navy ;  discipline  on  men-of-war. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  When  neither  senator  from  a  state  belongs  to  the  same  party  as 
the  President,  who  then  dictates  the  appointments  for  that  state  ? 

2.  Give  some  objections  to  the  method  of  appointment  by  competi- 
tive examination. 

3.  Ought  the  Commissioner  of  Education  to  be  a  Cabinet  officer  ? 

4.  What  subjects  are  included  under  domestic  economy  ? 

5.  Give  another  example  of  an  international  legislature. 

6.  Name  the  five  great  nations  of  the  world  in  the  order  of  their 
strength. 

7.  Is  $17,500  per  annum  a  large  salary  for  the  minister  at  the  Court 
of  St.  James  ? 

8.  How  does  an  arsenal  differ  from  an  armory  ? 

9.  Give  an  account  of  the  battle  of  Manila. 

10.  How  many  of  our  Presidents  have  also  held  the  rank  of  general 
in  the  army  ? 


XXXVI 

THE    NATIONAL   LEGISLATURE 


396.  National  and  State.  —  The  Congress  of  the  United 
States  consists  of  two  houses,  a  Senate  and  a  House  of 
Representatives,  usually  for  the  sake  of  brevity  called  the 
House.     It  is  organized  upon  the  same  plan,  transacts  its 
business  in  a  similar  manner,  its  members  enjoy  the  same 
freedom  from  arrest  (338),  and  are  subject  to  influences 
of  a  character  like  to  those  employed  in  the  legislatures 
of  the  states  (344).     The  national  differs  from  the  state 
legislature  chiefly  in  the  nature  of  the  laws  which  it  passes, 
in  the  size  of  its  membership,  the  number  and  importance 
of  its  committees,  and  the  generally  enlarged  scale  upon 
which  everything  is  done. 

397.  Sessions  of  Congress.  —  The  term  of  a  Congress 
begins  at  twelve  o'clock  noon  on  the  fourth  day  of  March 
in    the   odd-numbered   years,    and   continues  exactly   two 
years.     The  Constitution,  however,  provides  that  the  first 
meeting  of  a  new  Congress  shall  begin  on  the  first  Monday 
of  December,  and  as  the  first  Congress  met  on  that  date 
in  1789,  the  first  session  of  every  succeeding  Congress  has 
fallen  upon  the  odd-numbered  years.     This  is  called  the 
long  session,  because  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  its  lasting 
until  the  first  of  the  succeeding  December,  and  it  usually 
does   continue    until   midsummer.      The    short  session  is 
limited  in  its  duration  to  a  little  over  three  months. 

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398.  The  Senate.  —  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  is 
composed  of  two  members  from  each  of  the  several  states 
of  the  Union,  who  are  elected  for  a  term  of  six  years.  As 
only  one-third  of  the  senators  retire  every  two  years,  and 
as  very  many  of  these  are  reflected,  the  Senate  may  be 
looked  upon  as  a  permanent  body.  This  feature,  together 
with  its  comparatively  small  size  and  the  ability  of  its 
members,  makes  it  very  influential. 

1.  Special  Powers.  —  The  Senate   is   an   executive,   a 
legislative,  and  a  judicial  body.     It  acts  as  a  check  upon 
the   President  in  making  appointments  (389),  and  when 
considering  his  nominations    holds   an   executive  session 
from  which  the  general  public  is  excluded.     It  forms  an 
essential  part  of  the  treaty-making  power,  with  which  the 
House  has  ordinarily  nothing  to  do ;  prevents  the  passage 
of  many  unwise  measures  often  introduced  into  the  House 
for  political  effect ;    and  by  reason  of  the  greater  famil- 
iarity of  the  senators  with  public  affairs,  is  able  to  correct 
the  mistakes  into  which  the  less  experienced  members  of 
the  House  are  liable  to  fall.     The  Senate  acts  as  a  court 
of  impeachment  (323)  for  high  political  officers,  and  is  the 
sole  judge  of  the  qualifications  of  its  own  members. 

2.  Organization.  —  The  chief  officer  of  the  Senate  is 
the  Vice-President,  whom  it  elects  upon  any  failure  of  the 
electoral  college  to  do  so  (374).     It  also  chooses  a  president 
pro  tempore  to  serve  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President. 
It  selects  its  committees  by  ballot,  and  rearranges  them 
every  two  years  upon  the  coming  in  of  the  new  senators. 

3.  Membership.  —  A  senator  is  elected  by  a  majority 
vote  of  the  two  houses  of  his  state  legislature  in  joint 
session,  after  each  house  has  cast  a  separate  ballot.     If, 

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THE    NATIONAL    LEGISLATURE 

for  any  reason,  a  vacancy  should  occur  while  the  legisla- 
ture is  not  in  session,  the  governor  makes  a  temporary 
appointment;  but  the  appointee  cannot  hold  the  position 
longer  than  until  the  close  of  the  session  immediately 
following,  and  the  state  will  then  have  only  one  senator 
until  the  legislature  does  make  a  selection.  A  senator 
must  be  at  least  thirty  years  old,  an  inhabitant  of  the 
state  he  represents,  and  must  have  been  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  for  nine  years  immediately  preceding  his 
election.  The  salary  of  a  senator  is  $5000  a  year  and 
necessary  travelling  expenses.  He  is  exempt  from  arrest 
on  a  civil  warrant  (179)  during  the  session  of  Congress, 
and  while  on  his  way  to  and  from  the  national  capital. 

399.  The  House. — The  national  House  consists  of  rep- 
resentatives from  every  state  in  the  union,  who  are  elected 
from  congressional  districts  for  a  term  of  two  years.  As 
all  of  the  members  go  ont  of  office  at  the  same  time,  the 
House  must  be  considered  a  transient  body.  Enough  of 
the  old  members,  however,  are  always  returned  to  be  of 
great  assistance  in  organizing  the  new  House. 

i.  Ratio  of  Representation. — Each  state  is  entitled  to 
at  least  one  member  in  the  House.  Where  it  is  entitled  to 
more  than  one,  the  number  is  found  by  dividing  the  total 
population  of  the  state  as  shown  by  the  last  census  of  the 
United  States,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  by  the  con- 
gressional ratio  of  representation.  This  ratio  is  the  quotient 
arising  from  dividing  the  total  population  of  the  United 
States  according  to  the  last  census,  excluding  Indians  not 
taxed,  by  the  number  of  members  the  House  is  to  contain 
after  the  new  apportionment,  which  is  had  after  each  de- 
cennial census.  The  Constitution  fixed  the  size  of  the 

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House  at  sixty-five  until  after  the  first  census  should  have 
been  taken.  The  first  ratio  was  made  33,000,  under  which 
the  Third  Congress  had  105  and  the  Fourth  141  members. 
At  present  the  House  has  386  members,  the  ratio  being 
193,141.  Each  territory  is  entitled  to  one  delegate,  who 
may  speak  but  not  vote  (299). 

2.  Special  Powers. — The   House  for  the  most  part  is 
a  legislative  body,  but  acts  in  an  executive  capacity  when 
it  brings  to  trial  a  high  government  official  before  the  bar 
of  the   Senate  sitting  as  a  court  of  impeachment.     Bills 
calling  for  an  appropriation  of  money  must  be  introduced 
into    the    House,    and   this   fact   might   give   it   in    some 
instances   the   power   to   defeat   a  treaty.     It  is  the  sole 
judge  of  the  qualifications  and  election  of  its  own  mem- 
bers.    It  elects  the  President  when  there  is  no  choice  in 
the  electoral  college. 

3.  Organization.  —  The    chief    officer    is   the   speaker, 
whom  the  most  numerous   political  party  in  the   House 
elects  from  its  own  members.     He  is  always  a  member 
who  has  served  one  or  more  terms,  for  one  without  this 
experience  could  not  properly  perform  the  duties  of  the 
office.      Next   to  the   President,  the  speaker  is  the  most 
powerful  officer  in  the  government.     This  is  because  he 
appoints  all  the  committees,  and  may  refuse  to  allow  any 
one  to  speak  upon  a  bill.     In  this  way  he  can  largely  con- 
trol legislation.     The  speaker  receives  $8000  a  year  and 
travelling  expenses.     The    house   has   a   sergeant-at-arms 
and  deputies,  doorkeepers,    pages,   and    other  officers  to 
preserve  order  and  to  assist  the  members  in  the  despatch 
of  business. 

4.  Congressional  Districts.  —  Each   state   having  more 

286 


THE   NATIONAL    LEGISLATURE 

than  one  representative  is  divided  into  districts,  which 
shall  contain  as  near  as  may  be  a  population  equal  to 
the  ratio  of  representation.  The  intention  is  to  form  a 
compact  territory ;  but  sometimes  to  gain  a  political  ad- 
vantage the  counties  will  be  joined  in  almost  any  way  so 
long  as  they  are  contiguous,  and  we  often  have  "shoe- 
string "  districts.  Missouri,  it  is  said,  once  contained  a 
district  longer  than  the  state  itself,  so  formed  as  to  con- 
tain a  large  number  of  negroes.  A  district  in  Massachu- 
setts of  this  character  was  once  given  wings  and  claws 
by  a  noted  artist,  and  because  Elbridge  Gerry,  then  gov- 
ernor of  the  state,  was  supposed  to  have  been  the  author 
of  it,  the  thing  was  called  a  gerrymander.  This  was  an 
injustice  to  Governor  Gerry,  who  was  opposed  to  the 
plan.  Sometimes  a  member  is  elected  by  the  whole  state, 
and  is  then  called  a  congressman-at-large.  To  vote  for 
a  congressman  one  must  also  have  the  right  to  vote  for 
a  member  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the  state  legis- 
lature (85). 

5.  Membership.  —  A  representative  must  be  at  least 
twenty-five  years  old,  have  been  for  seven  years  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  state  from  which 
he  is  sent,  and  custom  has  decreed  that  he  shall  also  be 
a  resident  of  the  district  he  represents.  When  a  vacancy 
occurs,  the  governor  issues  a  writ  of  election  to  fill  it. 
A  representative  receives  the  same  salary  and  the  same 
allowances  for  travelling  expenses  as  does  a  senator.  Each 
senator  and  representative  is  allowed  a  clerk. 

400.  The  Committee  System.  — The  method  of  enacting 
laws  in  the  national  legislature  is  about  the  same  as  in  the 
state  (340,  341),  except  that  more  is  intrusted  to  the  com- 

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mittees.  These  are  classified  as  "  standing,"  which  act 
through  two  sessions,  and  "  select,"  or  such  as  are  given 
charge  of  particular  subjects  of  current  interest.  To  some 
one  of  these  committees  each  and  every  bill  is  referred ; 
arguments  and  evidence  are  produced  for  and  against  it ; 
and  in  most  instances  the  decision  of  the  committee  seals 
its  fate. 

This  system  has  been  criticised  because  it  destroys  the 
unity  of  the  House  as  a  legislative  body ;  prevents  the 
capacity  of  the  best  members  from  being  brought  to  bear 
upon  any  one  piece  of  legislation  ;  cramps  debate ;  lessens 
the  cohesion  of  legislation ;  gives  facilities  for  the  exercise 
of  corrupt  and  underhand  influences  ;  reduces  the  responsi- 
bility of  the  whole  House  and  of  every  member  not  on  the 
reporting  committee,  and  throws  undue  power  into  the 
hands  of  the  chairmen  of  the  more  important  committees. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  enables  the  House  to  deal  with  a  far 
greater  number  of  measures ;  kills  off  many  unimportant 
and  even  dangerous  bills ;  permits  a  close  scrutiny  of  the 
administrative  departments;  and  secures  to  the  House 
sufficient  time  for  the  consideration  of  those  subjects  which 
are  of  vital  importance  to  the  nation.1  Every  system  is 
open  to  criticism  and  improvement ;  and  the  very  fact  that 
the  dangers  mentioned  are  so  well  understood  is  a  safe- 
guard against  their  occurrence. 

401.  Congressional  Legislation.  —  In  considering  the 
nature  of  the  laws  passed  by  Congress,  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  whole  American  system  of  government 
aims  to  intrust  local  measures  to  local  bodies,  reserving  to 
higher  bodies  subjects  of  general  interest  (301).  The  law- 

1  Bryce's  American  Commonwealth. 
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THE    NATIONAL    LEGISLATURE 

making  power  in  any  government  determines  its  form  (20), 
and  the  name  makes  little  difference.  It  is  the  nature  of 
the  laws  that  marks  the  real  distinction  between  a  republic 
and  a  monarchy.  In  name  Mexico  is  a  republic;  in  fact, 
it  is  a  despotism  as  real  as  though  the  President  bore  the 
title  of  emperor,  and  wore  his  crown  for  life.  Congress 
has  more  power  than  does  the  judicial  or  executive  depart- 
ments, because  the  former  cannot  interpret  nor  the  latter 
enforce  a  law  that  does  not  exist.  If  Congress  refuses  to 
enact,  the  other  departments  are  helpless. 

If,  therefore,  you  should  examine  the  Revised  Statutes 
of  the  United  States,  you  would  search  in  vain  for  any  law 
relative  to  the  disposition  of  property  by  will,  to  com- 
mercial paper,  or  to  the  government  of  cities  and  villages, 
for  these  are  topics  which  are  intrusted  wholly  to  the  state 
legislature.  But  when  the  subject  is  one  which  affects  the 
citizens  of  various  states,  then  Congress  may  act.  The 
national  legislature  will  not  enact  a  law  regulating  the  sale 
of  liquor  at  retail  within  a  state;  but  it  will  require  the 
authorities  of  one  state  to  permit  the  sale  of  liquor  in  an 
original  package  sent  into  the  state  by  a  citizen  of  another 
state  for  the  express  purpose  of  sale.  Hence  you  will  find 
an  act  creating  a  commission  on  interstate  commerce,  and 
defining  its  powers. 

402.  Express  Powers.  — The  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  expressly  confers  upon  Congress  the  right  to  legis- 
late upon  seventeen  different  subjects  (Art.  I,  Sect.  8), 
and  the  following  section  specifies  nine  restrictions.  The 
number  is  so  small  and  the  words  used  are  so  few  that 
the  whole  might  be  learned  in  an  afternoon ;  but  to  each 
statement  has  been  given  a  breadth  of  meaning  which 

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does  not  appear  on  the  surface.  For  instance,  the  power 
is  given  "  to  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations, 
and  among  the  several  states,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes." 
The  meaning  of  the  word  "  commerce  "  is  not,  however, 
to  be  confined  to  traffic,  to  the  buying  and  selling  com- 
modities (118);  but  it  comprehends  commercial  inter- 
course of  whatever  nature,  whether  by  ships,  railroads, 
telegraphs,  or  telephones,  and  however  conducted,  pro- 
vided it  be  not  confined  within  the  boundaries  of  a  single 
state.  Probably  the  most  important  of  these  express  powers 
is  the  right  to  borrow  money,  levy  and  collect  taxes,  and  to 
pay  debts. 

403.  Implied  Powers.  —  As  an  incident  to  every  express 
grant  there  must  be  attached  the  right  to  provide  the 
means  necessary  to  render  that  grant  effective.  Hence 
the  power  given  to  Congress  to  establish  a  system  of 
courts  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court,  carried  with  it  im- 
pliedly  the  power  to  prescribe  the  limits  of  jurisdiction, 
provide  judges,  and  appoint  court  officers.  No  one  has 
ever  held  that  there  were  no  powers  implied  in  the  Con- 
stitution ;  nor  that  all  the  powers  to  be  exercised  by  the 
states  were  expressly  reserved  in  the  Constitution  (Art.  I, 
Sect.  10).  But  just  where  the  line  should  be  drawn  be- 
tween these  two  views  soon  became  a  question  of  party 
politics,  which  to  a  certain  extent  divides  the  political 
parties  of  to-day.  The  Federalists,  at  whose  head  stood 
Hamilton,  now  represented  by  the  Republicans,  believed 
in  a  liberal  construction  of  the  Constitution,  and  hence 
were  called  "  loose-constructionists "  (28);  the  anti-Fed- 
eralists, now  Democrats,  with  Jefferson  as  a  leader,  be- 
lieved in  a  close  interpretation,  and  hence  were  termed 

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"strict-constructionists."  The  Federalists  relied  upon 
paragraphs  i  and  18  of  Sect.  8,  Art.  i,  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, sometimes  called  the  "  elastic  clauses,"  to  support 
their  views  ;  while  their  opponents  cited  the  Tenth  Amend- 
ment. 

404.  Magnitude  of  Business.  —  In  comparing  national 
with  state  affairs,  one -is  particularly  impressed  with  the 
magnitude  of  the  former.  Everything  is  done  upon  a 
large  scale.  The  Senate  contains  more  members  than  do 
several  state  legislatures;  the  House  has  more  than  the 
legislatures  of  some  two  or  three  of  the  states  combined ; 
and  there  are  more  persons  in  the  employment  of  the  gov- 
ernment than  reside  in  some  of  the  states.  The  most  ex- 
pensive building  in  any  city  is  likely  to  be  the  post-office ; 
the  national  capitol,  the  national  library,  and  the  depart- 
ment buildings  are  beautiful  beyond  description  ;  and  even 
the  yearly  cost  of  maintaining  one  of  them  would  be  a 
handsome  fortune  to  the  most  of  us.  The  finest  ships  that 
float  the  ocean  are  some  of  our  men-of-war ;  including  the 
pension  list,  the  annual  expense  of  maintaining  our  army 
runs  into  the  scores  of  millions ;  and  the  total  annual 
expenditures  of  the  government  aggregate  hundreds  of 
millions  of  dollars.  At  these  material  evidences  of  the 
greatness  of  our  nation  we  are  lost  in  astonishment ;  but 
when  we  reflect  that  all  this  is  but  a  small  part  of  the  real 
wealth  of  the  country,  and  that  both  our  population  and 
resources  are  developing  with  giant  strides,  we  can  only 
dream  how  great  our  country  will  be  in  a  century  hence. 
Lord  Rosebery,  in  speaking  lately  of  what  might  have  fol- 
lowed had  the  colonies  remained  with  England,  said  that 
it  might  have  resulted  in  the  transfer  of  the  seat  of  govern- 

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ment  to  these  parts,  and  the  retention  of  Britain  "  as  an 
historical  shrine,  the  European  outpost  of  the  world's 
empire." 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  National  and  state  legislatures  compared. 

2.  Sessions  of  Congress  ;  long  and  short  terms. 

3.  The  Senate  ;  special  powers  ;  organization  ;  membership. 

4.  The  House ;  ratio  of  representation  ;  special  powers ;  or- 
ganization ;  congressional  districts  ;  membership. 

5.  The  committee  system;  criticism  and  defence. 

6.  Congressional  legislation ;  nature  of  the  laws  of  the  United 
States. 

7.  Powers  of  Congress  ;  express  powers ;  implied  powers. 

8.  Magnitude  of  subjects  for  congressional  action. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  Find  the  number  of  the  Congress  which  was  in  session  from  1861 
to  1863. 

2.  How  many  senators  did  the  Fifty-first  Congress  contain  ? 

3.  Should  senators  be  elected  by  popular  vote  ? 

4.  From  the  number  of  congressmen  to  which  it  is  entitled  find  the 
population  of  this  state  according  to  the  last  census. 

5.  Mention  three  great  statesmen  who*  have  been  speakers  of  the 
House. 

6.  Given  the  membership  of  the  House  and  the  ratio  of  representa- 
tion; find  the  population  of  the  United  States,  excluding  Indians  not 
taxed. 

7.  Name  the  most  important  committee  in  the  House. 

8.  The  right  to  levy  taxes  includes  what  implied  power  ? 

9.  Mention  other  subjects  with  which  Congress  may  not  deal. 

10.  Who  is  Lord  Rosebery  ? 

11.  May  one  who  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  ever  vote  for  a 
congressman  ? 


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XXXVII 

THE   NATIONAL   JUDICIARY 


"  Few  American  institutions  are  better  worth  studying  than  this 
intricate  judicial  machinery ;  few  deserve  more  admiration  for  the 
smoothness  of  their  working;  few  have  contributed  more  to  the 
peace  and  well-being  of  the  country." 

—  BRYCE'S  American  Commonwealth. 


405.  Historical.  —  Under  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
there  was  no  national  judiciary;  but  in  its  stead  were 
thirteen  sets  of  state  courts,  each  having  the  power  to 
interpret  and  apply  the  acts  of  Congress  for  its  own 
locality.  Obviously  if  there  was  to  be  formed  a  "  more 
perfect  union  "  under  the  Constitution,  the  powers  granted 
to  the  new  national  legislature,  and  the  laws  which  it 
should  pass  by  virtue  of  them,  must  be  construed  by  a 
single  set  of  courts  at  the  head  of  which  should  stand  a 
supreme,  or  final  court  of  appeal.  This  system  of  courts 
must  be  entirely  separated  from  the  state  tribunals ;  must 
have  its  own  officers  to  enforce  its  judgments  and  decrees 
(367) ;  and  must  be  made  independent  of  the  legislative 
and  executive  departments,  except  in  so  far  as  necessary 
to  secure  on  the  part  of  the  judges  a  faithful  discharge  of 
their  duties.  The  first  object  was  attained  by  carefully 
specifying  (Constitution,  Art.  Ill,  Sect.  2)  the  classes  of 
subjects  which  were  to  come  within  their  jurisdiction ;  the 

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second,  by  giving  to  Congress  power  to  establish  a  com- 
plete system  of  courts  with  proper  gradations,  and  pro- 
vided with  all.  the  necessary  officers;  and  the  third,  by 
giving  the  judges  a  life  tenure,  subject  only  to  impeach- 
ment by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  Senate,  and  a  fixed  salary 
which  cannot  be  diminished  during  the  judge's  continu- 
ance in  office.  The  territorial  courts  are  not  created  by 
Congress  under  this  power  granted  by  the  Constitution, 
but  in  the  exercise  of  the  general  sovereignty  of  the 
United  States  over  the  territory  it  may  possess.  The 
judges  of  such  courts  may,  therefore,  be  appointed  for 
definite  terms,  and  are  removable  by  the  President. 

406.  Departments  Interdependent.  —  In  order  to  have 
the  governmental  machine  work  smoothly  and  effectively, 
it  is  necessary  that  each  department  should  be  independent 
in  its  own  sphere,  and  also  that  each  should  support  the 
other.  By  combining  their  forces  and  increasing  the 
number  of  judges  in  the  Supreme  Court,  Congress  and 
the  President  could  probably  secure  a  decision  favoring 
their  views ;  but  such  action  would  very  likely  receive  a 
severe  punishment  at  the  ensuing  election,  for  the  people 
are  proud  of  their  Supreme  Court,  and  would  tolerate  no 
such  interference  without  the  strongest  reasons.  If  the 
President  and  judiciary  should  attempt  to  override  con- 
gressional action,  the  remedy  would  be  impeachment. 

The  only  way  in  which  the  Supreme  Court  could  reach 
the  President  would  be  by  a  judgment  or  decree  (282), 
which  its  marshal  would  be  called  upon  to  enforce.  If 
the  President  should  refuse  to 'obey  the  marshal,  the  latter 
must,  as  a  last  resort,  depend  upon  the  military  to  assist 
him.  This  the  President  as  Commander-in-chief  would  not 

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permit,  and  thus  the  court  would  be  powerless.  If  the 
President  should  decide  not  to  allow  an  order  of  the  court 
to  be  enforced,  it  could  not  be  done.  A  case  of  this  kind 
happened  in  1861,  when  President  Lincoln  refused  to  per- 
mit a  military  commander  to  be  released  upon  a  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  issued  by  Chief  Justice  Taney. 

407.  United  States  Commissioners.  —  The  judicial  officer 
lowest  in  rank  in  the  United  States  government  is  the 
United  States  commissioner.     The  law  provides  that  each 
of  the  district  courts  of  the  United  States  may  appoint  in 
the  district  for  which  it  is  held  so  many  discreet  persons  as 
it  may  deem  necessary  to  be  United  States  commissioners. 
They  are  authorized    to  issue  warrants  for  the  arrest  of 
persons  charged  with  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  hold  them  to  security  of  the  peace ;  to  take 
bail  and  administer  oaths  in  any  civil  case  where  required 
or  allowed  in  the  circuit  or  district  courts ;  to  issue  war- 
rants for  the  arrest  of  foreign  seamen,   and  to  apprehend 
and  to  commit  to  jail  fugitives  from  justice  from  other 
countries,  provided  an  arrest  is  authorized  by  treaty  with 
the  United  States.     Upon  the  criminal  side  these  officers 
are  committing  magistrates,  with  powers  similar  to  those  of 
the  justice  of  the  peace  (192),  and  must  keep  a  record  of 
all  such  proceedings.      Upon  the  civil  side  they  have  no 
jurisdiction ;    but  like  a  notary  they  may  take  testimony 
for  use  in  the  district  or  circuit  courts.    The  commissioners 
are  paid  by  fees. 

408.  District   Courts.  —  The  district  court  is  the  lowest 
federal  court  in  rank,  and  covers  the  smallest  extent  of  ter- 
ritory, there  being  one  or  more  in  each  state.    The  district 
judge   must  reside  in  the  district,  and  receives  a  salary 

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ranging  from  $3000  to  $5000,  with  no  allowance  for  travel- 
ling expenses.  Each  court  is  provided  with  a  clerk  and  a 
marshal,  and  as  many  deputies  as  the  circumstances  re- 
quire. There  is  also  a  district  attorney,  who  acts  under 
the  supervision  of  the  Attorney  General  (385).  At  least 
two  sessions  of  this  court  are  held  in  each  subdivision  of 
the  district,  and  as  many  special  sessions  as  the  judge  may 
find  necessary.  For  certain  purposes  these  courts  are  -con- 
sidered open  at  all  times. 

The  district  court  has  jurisdiction  of  nearly  all  crimes 
and  offences  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  com- 
mitted upon  the  high  seas,  or  within  their  respective  dis- 
tricts, the  punishment  of  which  is  not  capital,  and  the  trial 
is  by  jury.  As  a  court  of  admiralty  it  has  a  jurisdiction 
well-nigh  exclusive  over  vessels  upon  navigable  waters, 
over  prizes  taken  in  war,  and  over  all  maritime  contracts, 
which  are  such  as  relate  to  transactions  upon  navigable 
waters ;  but  the  common  law  remedy  is  not  taken  away, 
and  suits  upon  maritime  contracts  may  also  be  brought  in 
the  state  courts.  Here  also  bankruptcy  proceedings  are 
brought.  A  bankrupt  is  a  trader  who  is  unable  to  pay  his 
debts.  The  law  provides  that  when  such  a  debtor  shall 
surrender  all  his  property  outside  of  his  exemptions  (39), 
the  court  may  relieve  him  from  any  further  liability. 

In  criminal  cases  where  the  punishment  is  death  an 
appeal  lies  directly  to  the  Supreme  Court;  so  also  in 
prize  cases  where  the  amount  is  over  $2000 ;  also  when 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  is  in  issue,  and  when  federal 
questions  are  involved ;  but  otherwise  to  the  Circuit  Court 
of  Appeals. 

409.  Court  of  Claims.  — This  court  was  organized  to  settle 

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the  claims  of  private  persons  against  the  federal  govern- 
ment. It  consists  of  a  chief  justice  and  four  judges,  and 
holds  its  sessions  at  the  national  capital.  These  claims 
must  arise  upon  contract  express  or  implied,  and  not  from 
a  wrongful  act  (162).  Pensions  and  war  claims  are  ex- 
cluded. The  district  courts  have  concurrent  jurisdiction 
where  the  amount  does  not  exceed  $1000,  and  the  circuit 
courts  where  the  amount  is  between  $1000  and  $10,000. 
Heads  of  executive  departments  may  refer  certain  classes 
of  disputed  claims  to  this  court  for  settlement;  but  all 
claims  will  be  barred  by  limitation  if  not  presented  within 
six  years  after  the  right  of  action  accrues  (213).  An 
appeal  will  lie  in  most  cases  to  the  Supreme  Court. 

410.  Circuit  Courts.  —  For  judicial  purposes  (348  :  5) 
the  several  states  of  the  union  are  combined  into  nine 
groups,  in  each  of  which  is  established  a  circuit  court 
(280).  To  each  one  of  these  circuits  one  of  the  justices 
of  the  Supreme  Court  is  allotted,  who  is  called  the  circuit 
justice.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  and  of  each  associate  justice  to  attend  at  least  one 
term  of  the  court  in  the  circuit  to  which  he  is  attached  not 
less  than  once  in  two  years.  Each  circuit  has  two  judges, 
and  seven  of  them  have  three  circuit  judges,  each  with 
the  same  power  therein  as  the  associate  justice.  The 
salary  of  a  judge  is  $6000,  and  he  must  reside  within  the 
circuit. 

Regular  terms  of  this  court  may  be  held  by  the  circuit 
justice,  or  by  either  circuit  judge,  or  by  any  two  of  the 
judges  sitting  together.  Cases  may  be  tried  by  each  of 
the  judges  sitting  apart  by  direction  of  the  presiding  justice 
or  judge,  who  designates  the  business  to  be  done  by  each. 

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Sessions  may  also  be  held  at  the  same  time  in  the  different 
districts  of  the  same  circuit. 

The  circuit  courts  have  original  and  concurrent  jurisdic- 
tion with  the  courts  of  the  several  states  of  all  suits  of  a 
civil  nature,  at  law  or  in  equity  (282),  where  the  amount 
in  dispute  exceeds,  exclusive  of  interest  and  costs,  the  sum 
of  $2000,  provided  the  claim  arises  under  the  laws  of  the 
United  States.  It  has  no  appellate  jurisdiction.  It  has 
exclusive  cognizance  of  all  capital  crimes  and  offences 
arising  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  and  concurrent  jurisdiction  with  the  district 
courts  in  other  cases.  Here  also  suits  must  be  brought 
for  infringements  on  patents  and  copyrights.  Appeals  lie 
directly  to  the  Supreme  Court,  if  there  shall  have  been 
raised  the  question  of  jurisdiction,  or  when  the  penalty  is 
capital;  but  not  otherwise,  unless  the  decree  or  judgment 
exceeds  $5000. 

411.  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals.  — In  each  circuit  there  is 
a  court  of  appeals,  consisting  of  three  judges,  two  of  whom 
constitute  a  quorum.  The  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  or  the  associate  justice  assigned  to  the  circuit,  the 
circuit  judges  within  the  circuit,  and  the  several  district 
judges  within  the  circuit  are  competent  to  sit  as  judges 
of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  within  their  respective 
circuits.  The  supreme  justice  presides  if  he  is  present, 
otherwise  the  circuit  judge  who  holds  the  oldest  commis- 
sion. If  there  be  not  a  full  court  at  any  time,  one  of  the 
district  judges  may  be  called  in. 

The  jurisdiction  of  this  court  is  wholly  appellate.  In 
criminal  cases  not  capital  the  decision  is  final ;  but  where 
the  penalty  is  death,  an  appeal  lies  to  the  Supreme  Court. 

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In  civil  cases  where  the  matter  in  controversy  exceeds 
$1000  an  appeal  may  also  be  had;  but  it  must  be  taken 
within  six  months  after  the  entry  of  the  order,  decree,  or 
judgment  sought  to  be  reversed. 

412.  The  Supreme  Court.  —  The  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  consists  of  a  chief  justice  and  eight  associate 
justices,  any  six  of  whom  constitutes  a  quorum.  No  final 
hearing  of  any  case  can  be  had  unless  a  quorum  be  present, 
but  a  less  number  may  make  preparatory  orders.  Each 
associate  justice  receives  $10,000  a  year,  and  the  chief 
justice  $500  additional. 

The  Supreme  Court  has  original  and  exclusive  jurisdic- 
tion of  all  controversies  of  a  civil  nature  where  a  state  is  a 
party,  except  between  a  state  and  its  citizens,  or  between 
a  state  and  citizens  of  other  states,  or  aliens,  in  which  last 
case  it  has  original,  but  not  exclusive,  jurisdiction.  It  also 
has  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  suits  or  proceedings  against 
ambassadors,  or  other  public  ministers  (394),  or  their 
domestics,  so  far  as  a  court  of  law  can  have  consistently 
with  the  principles  of  international  law ;  and  original,  but 
not  exclusive,  jurisdiction  of  all  suits  brought  by  ambas- 
sadors, or  other  public  ministers,  or  in  which  a  consul  or 
a  vice-consul  is  a  party.  It  is  said  that  the  decisions  of 
our  Supreme  Court  on  international  and  admiralty  law 
are  more  widely  cited  than  those  of  any  other  tribunal 
in  Christendom. 

The  appellate  powers  of  the  Supreme  Court  are  given 
by  the  Constitution ;  but  they  are  limited  and  regulated 
by  statute.  It  is  essential  to  appellate  jurisdiction  that  it 
raises  and  corrects  proceedings  in  a  case  already  begun 
(177).  In  certain  cases,  as  when  the  jurisdiction  of  the 

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lower  court  is  called  in  question,  an  appeal  may  be  made 
directly ;  and  instruction  upon  any  point  of  law  raised 
before  it  may  be  asked  by  some  of  the  lower  courts  from 
the  Supreme  Court.  The  Supreme  Court  may  issue  writs 
of  prohibition  (349)  to  district  courts  when  proceeding  as 
courts  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction;  and  writs  of 
mandamus  (289)  to  any  court  appointed  under  the  authority 
of  the  United  States,  or  to  persons  holding  office  under 
the  authority  of  the  United  States,  where  a  state,  or  an 
ambassador  or  other  public  minister,  or  a  consul  or  a  vice- 
consul,  is  a  party.  Mandamus  will  not  issue  to  compel  an 
officer  to  act  while  the  political  department  of  the  govern- 
ment has  control;  but  if  an  officer  should  refuse  to  per- 
form a  merely  ministerial  duty  (271),  the  court  would 
interfere. 

413.  Common  to  the  Courts.  —  The  judges  of  the  fore- 
going courts  are  nominated  by  the  President  and  confirmed 
by  the  Senate  ;  are  appointed  for  life  ;  must  take  the  same 
oath ;  are  prohibited  from  practising  law ;  and  each  is 
entitled  to  resign  and  receive  full  pay  for  life  after  having 
held  his  office  for  ten  years,  provided  he  has  arrived  at  the 
age  of  seventy  years.  The  several  judges  and  the  com- 
missioners may  issue  search  warrants  authorizing  any 
officer  or  person  to  enter  a  house  to  look  for  counterfeit 
money,  or  for  tools  used  in  its  manufacture ;  or  to  search 
for  and  seize  merchandise  upon  which  customs  duties  have 
not  been  paid ;  or  to  discover  frauds  upon  the  revenue. 
The  judges  may  issue  the  customary  writs  of  habeas 
corpus  (220)  and  others  for  the  security  of  person  and 
property,  and  to  carry  out  their  judicial  orders  ;  grant  new 
trials,  and  hold  to  security  of  the  peace.  In  all  the  courts 

300 


THE    NATIONAL    JUDICIARY 


of  the  United  States  the  parties  may  plead  their  own 
causes,  or  they  may  employ  an  attorney.  Juries  are  drawn 
and  trials  are  conducted  after  the  manner  pursued  in  the 
courts  of  the  state  where  the  trial  is  held. 

TOPICAL  ANALYSIS 

1.  Historical ;  necessity  for  national  judiciary;  general  plan. 

2.  Departments  interdependent ;    the   courts    and   Congress ; 
the  President  and  the  courts. 

3.  United  States  commissioners. 

4.  District  courts  ;  organization  ;  jurisdiction  ;  appeals. 

5.  Court  of  claims ;  organization;  jurisdiction;  appeals. 

6.  Circuit  courts  ;  organization  ;  sessions  ;  jurisdiction  ;  appeals. 

7.  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals ;  organization  ;  jurisdiction  ;  appeals. 

8.  Supreme    Court;    organization;    jurisdiction;    supervisory 
powers. 

9.  Powers  common  to  all  the  courts. 

QUESTIONS  AND  EXERCISES 

1.  From  the  Constitution  find  when  one  is  entitled  to  a  jury  in 
a  civil  case. 

2.  Who  presides  when  a  President  is  tried  by  impeachment? 

3.  Why  should  the  Supreme  Court  have  original  jurisdiction  in 
the  case  of  ambassadors  and  their  servants? 

4.  Give  an  account  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision. 

5.  Why  was  the  Eleventh  Amendment  added  to  the  Constitution? 

6.  What  is  the  duty  of  the  Supreme  Court  reporter? 

7.  Where  is  the  district  court  held  in  this  district? 

8.  What    great    service    did  Chief  Justice    Marshall    render   this 
country  ? 

g.   Why  should  a  judge  reside  within  his  district  ? 

10.  Who  appoints  the  district  attorney  ? 


301 


APPENDIX  A 
FORMS  FOR  A  CIVIL  CASE  IN  A  JUSTICE'S  COURT 


As  the  purpose  in  conducting  a  class  exercise  in  a  civil  case  in  a 
justice  court  is  to  make  the  pupils  familiar  with  the  local  usage,  it  will 
be  better  to  procure  forms  of  some  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  vicinity. 
For  such  as  are  unable  to  do  this,  the  following  forms  are  given :  — 

No.  i. 

SUMMONS 

In  the  Justice's  Court  of Township  (or  Precinct), 

County  of ,  State  of 


Plainti/. 
vs. 


Summons. 


Defendant. 

Action  brought  in  one  of  the  Justice's  Courts  of Town- 
ship, County  of ,  State  of . 

In  the  name  of  the  People  of  the  State  of . 

To ,  Defendant,  Greeting :  — 

You  are   hereby  summoned  and  required  to  appear  in  an  action 
brought  against  you  by  the  above-named  plaintiff  in  one  of  the  Justice's 

Courts  of Township,  in  and  for  the  County  of , 

in  the  State  of ,  and  answer  to  a  declaration  filed  in  said 

Justice's  Court,  on  the day  of ,  19.-,  or  judgment 

by  default  will  be  entered  against  you. 

Given  under  my  hand  at ,  this  day  of ,  19.-. 


Justice  of  the  Peace  for  said  Township. 
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No.  2. 

DECLARATION    (COMPLAINT) 

I  n  the  Justice's  Court  of Township,  County  of , 

State  of  _  _ 


Plainti/. 
VS. 


Defendant. 

Plaintiff  above  named  files  this  declaration  against  the  above-named 
defendant,  and  alleges  :  — 

First,  that  plaintiff  is  a  resident  of County,  State  of 

. ,  and  that  defendant  is  a  resident  of Town- 
ship in  said  County. 

Second,  that  on  the day  of ,  r9-->  defendant 

became  indebted  to  plaintiff  in  a  large  sum,  to  wit,  the  sum  of 

Dollars  ($  )  for  ten  thousand  feet  of  beech  and  maple  logs, 

sold  and  delivered  to  said  defendant  by ,  agent  for 

plaintiff. 

Wherefore  plaintiff  demands  judgment  for  $  ,  with  interest 

and  costs  of  suit. 


Attorney  for  Plaintiff. 

No.  3. 

RETURN   OF   SUMMONS 

I  hereby  certify  and  return  that  I  received  the  within  summons  on 

the day  of ,  19--,  and  that  I  served  the  same 

on  the  defendant  named  therein  on  the day  of  _  _., 

I9__,  by  showing  him  the  original  and  delivering  to  him  a  copy  thereof 
at in  said  County. 


Fees    $  -  -  .  Constable. 

3°4 


FORMS    FOR   A    CIVIL    CASE 


No.  4. 

FORM  TO  AUTHORIZE  ONE  NOT  A  CONSTABLE  TO 
SERVE  A  SUMMONS 

In  the  Justice's  Court  of Township,  County  of , 

State  of  _- 


Plaintiff. 
VS. 


Defendant.  4 

On  the  request  of  the  within  named  plaintiff,  and  deeming  it  expe- 
dient so  to  do,  I  hereby  empower ,  who  is  a  person  of 

lawful  age,  and  not  a  party  to  or  interested  in  the  suit,  to  execute  the 
within  process. 

Township,  _. , ,  19--. 


Justice  of  the  Peace. 
The  Jury. 


No.  5. 

AFFIRMATION    OF   CONSTABLE 

You  do  solemnly  affirm,  that  in  the  suit  now  pending  before  me 

wherein  A B is  plaintiff  and  C D 

is  defendant,  you  will  select  according  to  your  best  judgment,  and 
without  favor  or  partiality  to  either  party,  the  names  of  eighteen  inhab- 
itants of  this  County  who  are  qualified  to  serve  as  jurors  in  the  County 
Court,  and  in  nowise  of  kin  to  the  plaintiff  or  defendant,  nor  inter- 
ested in  said  cause,  from  whom  to  form  a  jury  for  the  trial  of  said 
cause. 

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TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


No.  6.  VENIRE 

In  the  Justice's  Court  of Township,  County  of , 

State  of 

To  any  Constable  of  said  County,  Greeting  :  — 

In  the  name  of  the  People  of  the  State  of ,  you  are  hereby 

required  to  summon  A B ,  C D , 

E-         -F_  _.,G-          --H-.         _-,!_.  J... 

and  K  ___    L  _  _.,  to  appear  before  the  undersigned,  one  of 

the   Justices   of  the   Peace  of  the   Township  of ,  in  said 

County,  at  __ in  the noon,  to  make  a  jury  for  the  trial 

of  an  action  wherein  A B is  plaintiff  and.  C 

D is  defendant.     And  have  you  then  and  there  this  precept. 

Given  under  my  hand,  at  the  Township  aforesaid,  the day 

of ,  19-. 


Justice  of  t lie  Peace. 


No.  7.  RETURN   OF   VENIRE 


I  certify  that,  by  virtue  of  the  within  precept,  I  have  personally 
summoned  each  of  the  several  persons  therein  named,  to  appear  at  the 
time  and  place  mentioned. 


Dated, _  _ ,  1 9 -  _ .  Constable. 

No.  8. 

AFFIRMATION   OF   JUROR   ON   CHALLENGE 

You  do  solemnly  affirm  that  you  will  true  answers  make  to  all  such 
questions  as  may  be  asked  in  relation  to  your  competency  as  a  juror,  in 

this  action  between  A B ,  plaintiff,  and  C 

D ,  defendant. 

No.  9. 

AFFIRMATION   OF  JURORS   BEFORE   TRIAL 

You  do  solemnly  affirm  that  you  will  well  and  truly  try  the  matter 

in  difference  between  A B ,  plaintiff,  and  C 

D ,  defendant,  and  unless  discharged  by  me,  a  true  verdict 

give,  according  to  law  and  evidence. 

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FORMS    FOR   A    CIVIL    CASE 


No.  10. 

AFFIRMATION  OF  CONSTABLE  ON  TAKING  CHARGE  OF 
THE   JURY   WHILE    DELIBERATING   ON   A  VERDICT 

You  do  solemnly  affirm  that  you  will  keep  the  persons  sworn  as 
jurors  on  this  trial  apart  in  some  private  and  convenient  place ;  that 
you  will  not  communicate  with  them  yourself,  either  orally  or  otherwise, 
nor  suffer  any  one  else  to  do  so,  unless  by  my  order ;  and  that  you  will 
not,  before  they  render  their  verdict,  communicate  to  any  person  the 
state  of  their  deliberations,  or  the  verdict  they  may  have  agreed  upon. 


No.  ii.  SUBPCENA 

In  the  Justice's  Court, Township,  County  of 

State  of- 


Plaintiff. 
VS. 


Defendant. 
To ,  Greeting:  — 

In  the  name  of  the  People  of  the  State  of ,  you  are  com- 
manded to  appear   personally  before  me,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  of 

Township  in  said  County,  at  my  office,  on  the 

day  of  _  __,  19^-,  at o'clock  in  the noon  of 

that  day,  to  testify  the  truth  according  to  your  knowledge  in  the  above 
entitled  cause.     Hereof  fail  not  at  your  peril. 

Given  under  my  hand,  at the day  of ,  19... 


Justice  of  the  Peace. 

No.  12.  AFFIRMATION   OF  WITNESS 

You  do  solemnly  affirm  that  you  will  testify  the  truth,  the  whole 
truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth  relating  to  the  cause  now  pending 
before  me,  wherein  A B is  plaintiff  and  C 

D is  defendant. 

307 


APPENDIX    B 
CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


WE  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union, 
establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defence, 
promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves 
and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  CONSTITUTION  for  the  United 
States  of  America. 

ARTICLE   I 

SECTION  I.  All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and  a  House  of 
Representatives. 

SECT.  II.  i.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of  members 
chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  States,  and  the  electors 
in  each  State  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most 
numerous  branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the 
age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he 
shall  be  chosen. 

3.  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several 
States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according  to  their  respective 
numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of  free 
persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding 
Indians  not  taxed,  three  fifths  of  all  other  persons.     The  actual  enumeration 
shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manner 
as  they  shall  by  law  direct.     The  number  of  Representatives  shall  not  exceed 
one  for  every  thirty  thousand,  but  each  State  shall  have  at  least  one  repre- 
sentative; and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New  Hamp- 
shire shall  be  entitled  to  choose  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode  Island  and 
Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five,  New  York  six,  New  Jersey  four, 
Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten,  North  Carolina 
five,  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  State,  the  Exec- 
utive authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

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TRAINING    FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


5.  The  House  "of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker  and  other 
officers;  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

SECT.  III.  I.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two 
Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  legislature  thereof,  for  six  years;  and 
each  Senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence  of  the  first 
election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into  three  classes.     The 
seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the 
second  year,  of  the  second  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of 
the  third  class  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one  third  may  be 
chosen  every  second  year;   and  if  vacancies  happen  by  resignation  or  other- 
wise, during  the  recess  of  the  legislature  of  any  State,  the  Executive  thereof 
may  make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  legislature, 
which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of 
thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall 
not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President  of  the  Sen- 
ate, but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a  President  pro 
tempore,  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he  shall  exercise  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments.     When 
sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath  or  affirmation.     When  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside  :  and  no  person 
shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present. 

7.  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall   not   extend  further  than  to 
removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor, 
trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States :  but  the  party  convicted  shall  never- 
theless be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment  and  punishment, 
according  to  law. 

SECT.  IV.  i.  The  times,  places  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  Sena- 
tors and  Representatives  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the  legislature 
thereof;  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time  by  law  make  or  alter  such  regula- 
tions, except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing  Senators. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and  such  meet- 
ing shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they  shall  by  law  appoint 
a  different  day. 

SECT.  V.  i.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns  and 
qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a 
quorum  to  do  business;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day, 
and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members,  in  such 
manner,  and  under  such  penalties,  as  each  house  may  prdvide. 

3IO 


CONSTITUTION    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES 

2.  Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,  punish  its  mem- 
bers for  disorderly  behavior,  and  with  the  concurrence  of  two  thirds,  expel  a 
member. 

3.  Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from  time  to 
time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may  in  their  judgment  require 
secrecy;   and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  house  on  any  ques- 
tion shall,  at  the  desire  of  one  fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

4.  Neither  house,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without  the  consent 
of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place  than 
that  in  which  the  two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 

SECT.  VI.  i.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a  compen- 
sation for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury 
of  the  United  States.  They  shall  in  all  cases  except  treason,  felony  and 
breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at  the 
session  of  their  respective  houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the 
same;  and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  house,  they  shall  not  be  ques- 
tioned in  any  other  place. 

2.  No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which  he  was 
elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the  United 
States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have 
been  increased,  during  such  time;  and  no  person  holding  any  office  under  the 
United  States  shall  be  a  member  of  either  house  during  his  continuance  in 
office. 

SECT.  VII.  i.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House 
of  Representatives;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  amendments 
as  on  other  bills. 

2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and 
the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States;   if  he  approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return  it  with 
his  objections  to  that  house  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter 
the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.     If  after 
such  reconsideration  two  thirds  of  that  house  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it 
shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  house,  by  which  it 
shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and,  if  approved  by  two  thirds  of  that  house, 
it  shall  become  a  law.     But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of  both  houses  shall  be 
determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and 
against  the  bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  house  respectively.     If 
any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sundays  ex- 
cepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in 
like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  adjournment 
prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

3.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concurrence  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except  on  a  question  of 

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TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States;  and 
before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or  being  disap- 
proved by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two  thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  the  case 
of  a  bill. 

SECT.  VIII.     The  Congress  shall  have  power 

1.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  to  pay  the  debts 
and  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States; 
but  all  duties,  imposts  and  excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United 
States; 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States; 

3.  To   regulate   commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the  several 
States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes; 

4.  To  establish  an  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform  laws  on  the 
subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States; 

5.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin,  and  fix 
the  standard  of  weights  and  measures; 

6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities  and  cur- 
rent coin  of  the  United  States; 

7.  To  establish  post  offices  and  post  roads; 

8.  To  promote  the   progress  of  science  and  useful  arts  by  securing  for 
limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective 
writings  and  discoveries; 

9.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court; 

10.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas 
and  offences  against  the  law  of  nations; 

11.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make  rules 
concerning  captures  on  land  and  water; 

12.  To  raise  and  support  armies,  but  no  appropriation  of  money  to  that  use 
shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years; 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy; 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  land  and 
naval  forces; 

15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth   the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the 
Union,  suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions; 

1 6.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming  and  disciplining  the  militia,  and  for 
governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  reserving  to  the  States  respectively  the  appointment  of  the  officers,  and 
the  authority  of  training  the  militia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by 
Congress; 

17.  To   exercise   exclusive  legislation   in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over  such 
district   (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)   as  may,  by  cession  of  particular 
States,  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  government  of  the 

312 


CONSTITUTION    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES 

United  States,  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by 
the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the  State,  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the 
erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dock-yards,  and  other  needful  buildings; 
—  and 

1 8.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying  into 
execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  Constitu- 
tion in  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  office 
thereof. 

SECT.  IX.  I.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the 
States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the 
Congress  prior  to  the  year  1808;  but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such 
importation,  not  exceeding  $10  for  each  person. 

2.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended,  unless 
when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

3.  No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

4.  No  capitation,  or  other  direct,  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  proportion  to 
the  census  or  enumeration  herein  before  directed  to  be  taken. 

5.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any  State. 

6.  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or  revenue 
to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another :  nor  shall  vessels  bound  to,  or 
from,  one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in  another. 

7.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in  consequence  of  ap- 
propriations made  by  law;  and  a  regular  statement  and  account  of  the  receipts 
and  expenditures  of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

8.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States :  and  no  per- 
son holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them,  shall,  without  the  consent 
of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title,  of  any  kind 
whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  state. 

SECT.  X.  i.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confedera- 
tion; grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal;  coin  money;  emit  bills  of  credit; 
make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts;  pass 
any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  con- 
tracts, or  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

2.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any  imposts  or 
duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for 
executing  its  inspection  laws :  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts, 
laid  by  any  State  on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of 
the  United  States;   and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  con- 
trol of  the  Congress. 

3.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  duty  of  tonnage, 
keep  troops,  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or 
compact  with  another  State,  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless 
actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


ARTICLE   II 

SECTION  I.  I.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term  of  four 
years,  and  together  with  the  Vice-President,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be 
elected  as  follows : 

2.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature  thereof  may 
direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole  number  of  Senators  and  Rep- 
resentatives to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress;   but  no  Sen- 
ator or  Representative,  or  person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the 
United  States,  shall  be  appointed  an  elector. 

[The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote  by  ballot  for 
two  persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State 
with  themselves.  And  they  shall  make  a  list  of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and 
of  the  number  of  votes  for  each;  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and 
transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the 
President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the 
votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes 
shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of 
electors  appointed;  and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  majority, 
and  have  an  equal  number  of  votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
immediately  choose  by  ballot  one  of  them  for  President;  and  if  no  person 
have  a  majority,  then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  list  the  said  house  shall  in 
like  manner  choose  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the  President  the  votes 
shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each  State  having  one  vote; 
a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two 
thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a 
choice.  In  every  case,  after  the  choice  of  the  President,  the  person  having 
the  greatest  number  of  votes  of  the  electors  shall  be  the  Vice-President.  But 
if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal  votes,  the  Senate  shall 
choose  from  them  by  ballot  the  Vice-President.] 

3.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  electors,  and  the 
day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes;  which  day  shall  be  the  same  through- 
out the  United  States. 

4.  No  person  except  a  natural  born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the 
office  of  President;  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office  who  shall 
not  have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a 
resident  within  the  United  States. 

5.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office  or  of  his  death,  resig- 
nation, or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  said  office,  the 
same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President,  and  the  Congress  may  by  law  pro- 

3H 


CONSTITUTION    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES 

vide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as  President, 
and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  disability  be  removed,  or  a 
President  shall  be  elected. 

6.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services,  a  compen- 
sation, which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during  the  period  for 
which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  period 
any  other  emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

7.  Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take  the  following 
oath  or  affirmation :  —  "  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully 
execute  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will  to  the  best  of 
my   ability,   preserve,   protect   and   defend    the    Constitution   of  the    United 
States." 

SECT.  II.  i.  The  President  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and 
navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  States,  when  called 
into  the  actual  service  of  the  United  States;  he  may  require  the  opinion,  in 
writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments,  upon 
any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  he  shall  have 
power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences  against  the  United  States, 
except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate, 
to  make  treaties,  provided  two  thirds  of  the  Senators  present  concur;   and  he 
shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall 
appoint  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  appointments  are  not 
herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by  law :  but  the 
Congress  may  by  law  vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior  officers,  as  they 
think  proper,  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of 
departments. 

3.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that  may  happen 
during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commissions  which  shall  expire 
at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 

SECT.  III.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress  information  of 
the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures 
as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions, 
convene  both  houses,  or  either  of  them,  and  in  case  of  disagreement  between 
them,  with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such 
time  as  he  shall  think  proper;  he  shall  receive  ambassadors  and  other  public 
ministers;  he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall 
commission  all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

SECT.  IV.  The  President,  Vice-President  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  United 
States,  shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  for,  and  conviction  of, 
treason,  bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and 'misdemeanors. 

315 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


ARTICLE  III 

SECTION  I.  i.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  vested  in 
one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  Congress  may  from  time  to 
time  ordain  and  establish.  The  judges,  both  of  the*  Supreme  and  inferior 
courts,  shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated  times, 
receive  for  their  services,  a  compensation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished  dur- 
ing their  continuance  in  office. 

SECT.  II.  i.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in  law  and  equity, 
arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties 
made  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their  authority;  — to  all  cases  affecting 
ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls; — to  all  cases  of  admiralty 
jurisdiction; — to  controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  party; 
—  to  controversies  between  two  or  more  States;  — between  a  State  and  citi- 
zens of  another  State;  — between  citizens  of  different  States;  — between  citi- 
zens of  the  same  State  claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  States,  and 
between  a  State,  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  states,  citizens  or  subjects. 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls, 
and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  a  party,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have 
original  jurisdiction.     In  all  other  cases  before  mentioned,  the  Supreme  Court 
shall  have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions, 
and  under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  be  by  jury; 
and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the  said  crimes  shall  have  been 
committed;   but  when  not  committed  within  any  State,  the  trial  shall  be  at 
such  place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

SECT.  III.  I.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in  levy- 
ing war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and 
comfort.  No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of 
two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of  treason, 
but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture  except 
during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 


ARTICLE  IV 

SECTION  I.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to  the  public 
acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other  State.  And  the  Congress 
may  by  general  laws  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records,  and 
proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

SECT.  II.  i.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges 
and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

2.  A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or  other  crime,  who 

3,6 


CONSTITUTION    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES 

shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State,  shall  on  demand  of  the 
executive  authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be 
removed  to  the  State  having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

3.  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the  laws  thereof, 
escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein, 
be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim 
of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

SECT.  III.  i.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this  Union; 
but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any 
other  State;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States, 
or  parts  of  States,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislatures  of  the  States  con- 
cerned as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful  rules 
and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or  other  property  belonging  to  the 
United  States;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to 
prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  particular  State. 

SECT.  IV.  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union 
a  republican  form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  inva- 
sion; and  on  application  of  the  legislature,  or  of  the  executive  (when  the 
legislature  cannot  be  convened)  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE   V 

The  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of  both  houses  shall  deem  it  necessary, 
shall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  application  of  the 
legislatures  of  two  thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a  convention  for 
proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either  case  shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  as  part  of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of 
three  fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  in  three  fourths  thereof, 
as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the  Congress; 
provided  that  no  amendments  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth 
clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article;  and  that  no  State,  without  its 
consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI 

1.  All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into,  before  the  adoption 
of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United  States  under  this 
Constitution,  as  under  the  Confederation. 

2.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which  shall  be  made 
in  pursuance  thereof;   and  all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under 
the  authority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land;   and 

3'7 


TRAINING   FOR   CITIZENSHIP 


the  judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything  in  the  Constitution 
or  laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

3.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the  members 
of  the  several  State  legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of 
the  United  States  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirma- 
tion, to  support  this  Constitution;  but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required 
as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  the  United  States. 


ARTICLE  VII 

The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  States,  shall  be  sufficient  for  the 
establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the  States  so  ratifying  the  same. 

Done  in  Convention  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  States  present,  the  sev- 
enteenth day  of  September  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  eighty-seven  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of 
America  the  twelfth.  In  witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto  subscribed  our 
names. 

[Signed  by]  GO  WASHINGTON, 

Presidt  and  Deputy  from  Virginia. 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE 
John  Langdon, 
Nicholas  Oilman. 

MASSACHUSETTS 
Nathaniel  Gorham, 
Rufus  King. 

CONNECTICUT 

Wm.  Saml.  Johnson, 

Roger  Sherman. 

NEW  YORK 

Alexander  Hamilton. 

NEW  JERSEY 
Wil :  Livingston, 
David  Brearley, 
Wm :  Paterson, 
Jona:  Dayton. 


VIRGINIA 
John  Blair, 
James  Madison,  Jr. 

NORTH  CAROLINA 
Wm.  Blount, 
Richd.  Dobbs  Spaight, 
Hu  Williamson. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA 
5.  Rutledge, 
Charles  Cotesworth 

Pinckney, 
Charles  Pinckney, 
Pierce  Butler. 

GEORGIA 
William  Fen, 
Abr  Baldwin. 


PENNSYLVANIA 
B  Franklin, 
Thomas  Mifflin, 
Robt.  Morris, 
Geo.  Clymer, 
Tho.  Fitz  Simons, 
Jared  Ingersoll, 
James  Wilson, 
Gouv  Morris. 

DELAWARE 
Geo :  Read, 
Gunning  Bedford, 

Jun, 

John  Dickinson, 
Richard  Bassett, 
Jaco :  Broom. 
MARYLAND 
James  Mcllenry, 
Dan  of  St.  Thos. 

Jenifer, 
Danl  Carroll. 

Attest :  William  Jackson,  Secretary. 
3,8 


CONSTITUTION    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES 


ARTICLES  IN  ADDITION  TO  AND  AMENDMENT  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA,  PROPOSED  BY  CONGRESS,  AND  RATIFIED  BY 
THE  LEGISLATURES  OF  THE  SEVERAL  STATES,  PURSUANT  TO  THE  FIFTH 
ARTICLE  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  CONSTITUTION 

ARTICLE  I.  —  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of 
speech,  or  of  the  press;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and 
to  petition  the  government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

ARTICLE  II.  —  A  well-regulated  militia,  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a 
free  State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 

ARTICLE  III.  —  No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace  be  quartered  in  any  house 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be 
prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE  IV.  —  The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall 
not  be  violated,  and  no  warrants  shall  issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  sup- 
ported by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the  place  to  be 
searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 

ARTICLE  V.  —  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise 
infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury  except 
in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual 
service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for 
the  same  offence  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  com- 
pelled in  any  criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be  deprived 
of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law;  nor  shall  private 
property  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation. 

ARTICLE  VI.  —  In  all  criminal  prosecutions  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the 
right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district 
wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been 
previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of 
the  accusation;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him;  to  have 
compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the  assist- 
ance of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

ARTICLE  VII.  —  In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy 
shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and 
no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the 
United  States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law. 

ARTICLE  VIII.  —  Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines 
imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

ARTICLE  IX.  —  The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights,  shall 
not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 

ARTICLE  X. — The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Con- 

3*9 


TRAINING    FOR    CITIZENSHIP 


stitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respec- 
tively, or  to  the  people. 

ARTICLE  XI.  —  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  con- 
strued to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against 
one  of  the  United  States  by  citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects 
of  any  foreign  state. 

ARTICLE  XII. —  i.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and 
vote  by  ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall 
not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves;  they  shall  name  in 
their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  per- 
son voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons 
voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and 
of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and 
transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the 
President  of  the  Senate;  — the  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the 
votes  shall  then  be  counted;  — the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes 
for  President  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole 
number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  no  person  have  such  majority,  then 
from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers  not  exceeding  three  on  the  list 
of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose 
immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes 
shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each  State  having  one  vote; 
a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two 
thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a 
choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a  President 
whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day 
of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of  the  President.  — The 
person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice-President,  shall  be  the 
Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors 
appointed,  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  num- 
bers on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice-President;  a  quorum  for 
the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two  thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  Senators,  and 
a  majority  of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  But  no  per- 
son constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  President  shall  be  eligible  to  that 
of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  XIII.  —  Section  i.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude, 
except  as  a  punishment  for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  con- 
victed, shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  juris- 
diction. 

Section  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropri- 
ate legislation. 

320 


CONSTITUTION    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES 

ARTICLE  XIV.  —  Section  I.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United 
States,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United 
States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  enforce 
any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the 
United  States;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  prop- 
erty, without  due  process  of  law;  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction 
the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

Section  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  States 
according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  persons 
in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any 
election  for  the  choice  of  Electors  for  President  and  Vice- President  of  the 
United  States,  Representatives  in  Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial  officers 
of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the 
male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  being  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  or  in  arty  way  abridged,  except  for  participation  in  rebellion, 
or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the 
proportion  which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole 
number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  State. 

Section  3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Representative  in  Congress, 
or  Elector  of  President  and  Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military, 
under  the  United  States,  or  under  any  State,  who,  having  previously  taken  an 
oath,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as  a 
member  of  any  State  legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any 
State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in 
insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the 
enemies  thereof.  But  Congress  may  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  each  house, 
remove  such  disability. 

Section  4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States,  authorized 
by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pensions  and  bounties  for 
services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned.  But 
neither  the  United  States  nor  any  State  shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obli- 
gation incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United  States, 
or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave;  but  all  such  debts, 
obligations,  and  claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 

Section  5.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  by  appropriate  legis- 
lation the  provisions  of  this  article. 

ARTICLE  XV.  —  Section  i.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to 
vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  any  State  on 
account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Section  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appro- 
priate legislation. 


321 


INDEX 

THE  NUMBERS  REFER  TO  SECTIONS 


Absolute  rights,  4. 

value  of,  10. 

rule  for  enjoyment,  13. 

elective  franchise  not,  85. 

courts  will  protect,  158. 

in  constitution,  311. 

protection  in  states,  317. 
Abstracts  of  title,  — 

definition,  136. 

in  register's  office,  276. 
Accommodation  paper,  142. 
Accredited  schools  in  California,  50. 
Acts  of  legislature, — 

originals  filed,  325. 

public,  343. 

local,  344. 
Adams,  Samuel, — 

Declaration  of  Independence,  222. 
Administration,  — 

change  affects  territories,  304. 

meaning  of,  369,  i. 
Administrative  law,  27. 
Administrative  officer,  21,  271. 

duty  to  enforce  laws,  21,  346. 

of  Supreme  Court,  352. 
Administrator,  public,  278. 
Admiral,  395. 
Admiralty,  court  of,  408. 
Agent,  authority  of,  262. 
Agricultural  colleges,  — 

support  of,  391. 

experiment  stations  in,  391. 
Agriculture,  Department  of,  387. 
Albany  Plan  of  Union,  355. 
Ambassadors,  — 

appointment  of,  369. 

Secretary  of  State  and,  380. 

number  and  salaries,  393. 


Amendments  to  Constitution,  364. 
American  Republics,  Bureau,  388. 
Amusements  and  crime,  215. 
Anarchists,  28,  5. 
Anti-fedeialists,  366. 

two  in  first  Cabinet,  377. 

implied  powers  and,  403. 
Appeal,— 

against  administration  officer,  21. 

highway  commissioner,  97. 

subordinate  township  board,  97. 

board  of  review,  101. 

assessor,  101. 

board  school  inspectors,  102. 

justice's  courts,  185,  348. 

Circuit  Court,  185,  287,  348,  5. 

probate  court,  281. 

in  territorial  courts,  303. 

principle  of,  347. 

costs  in,  348. 

method  in  Supreme  Courts,  350. 

in  capital  cases  (U.S.),  410. 

District  Court  (U.S.),  408. 

Court  of  Claims  (U.S.),  409. 

Circuit  Court  (U.S.),  411. 
Appellant,  definition,  347. 
Appellate  jurisdiction,  177. 
Arguments  in  civil  case,  209, 210. 
Aristocracy,  20. 
Arizona,  — 

justice's  precinct  in,  82. 

Bill  of  Rights  in,  300. 

Indian  schools  in,  391,  2. 
Armies,  standing,  221. 
Army  (U.S.),— 

President  as  commander,  369,  2. 

War  Department  and,  382. 

cadets  in,  382. 

323 


INDEX 


Army  (U.S.),— 

education  in,  394. 

organization  of,  394. 
Arraignment,  192. 
Arrest,  method  of,  190. 

legislators  liable  to,  338. 
Arson,  169. 
Articles  of  Confederation,  356. 

plans  of  Franklin,  357. 

nature  of,  357,  366. 

inefficiency  of,  357. 

no  national  judiciary,  405. 
Assessor,  — 

of  taxes  in  townships,  89. 

appeal  from,  101. 
Attorney,  alien, — 

defined,  3. 

and  absolute  rights,  10. 
Attorney-at-law,  — 

assist  in  trials,  182. 

appointed  to  defend  prisoners,  193. 

circuit  judge  to  be,  291. 

officers  of  court,  294. 

court  commissioners  to  be,  296. 
Attorney  General  (state),  328. 
Attorney  General  (U.S.),— 

Randolph,  first,  377. 

qualifications,  379. 

business  of  department,  385. 
Auditor  General  (state),  327. 
Auditor  of  Treasury  (U.S.),  381. 
Auditors,  board  of,  253. 
Australian  ballot  in  territories,  304. 

Bail,— 

definition,  191. 

in  capital  crimes,  191. 

in  habeas  corpus,  220. 

U.S.  commissioners  may  take,  407. 
Ballot,— 

production  of,  106. 

distribution,  107. 

depositing,  108. 

preparation  of,  108,  260. 

counting,  no. 

preservation,  no. 

in  contested  elections,  270. 
Bank,— 

loaning  by,  142. 

definition,  151. 

services  of,  151. 

state  funds  in,  326. 


Bankrupt,  definition,  408. 
Bankruptcy  law,  345. 
Barter,  — 

definition, ^117. 

when  used,  119. 
Base  line,  67. 

Beaver  skins  as  money,  119. 
Bill,  — 

definition,  341. 

enacted  into  law,  341. 
Bill  of  Rights,  221. 

in  territory,  300. 

in  state  constitution,  311. 

in  U.S.  Constitution,  364. 
Bill  of  sale,  144. 
Boards  of  directors,  — 

power,  how  shown,  47, 95, 148. 
Bonds, — 

definition,  137. 

collateral  security,  142. 
Bonds.     See  official  bonds. 
Boss-political,  258. 
Boundaries  (state),  308. 

in  constitution,  311. 
Bounties  to  factories,  28,  2. 
Bridges,  — 

construction  and  repair,  92,  253. 
Brief,  lawyer's,  349. 
Building  and  loan  associations,  155. 
Buildings,  real  property,  125. 
Bulwarks  of  liberty, — 

Magna  Charta,  219. 
Bureaus,  in  Executive  Depts.,  379. 
Burial  grounds, — 

purchase  and  care,  100. 

Habeas  Corpus,  220. 

Bill  of  Rights,  221. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  222. 

national  Constitution,  223. 

Ordinance  1787, 224. 

Emancipation  Proclamation,  225. 
Business  enterprises,  — 

definition,  146. 

promotion  of,  146-156. 

cities  as,  234. 

Business,  system  of  contracts,  140. 
By-laws,  nature  of,  95. 

Cabinet,— 

American,  377. 

civil  service,  369,  379. 

legislative  duties,  369. 

3*4 


INDEX 


Cabinet,  — 

first,  377. 

compared  with  English,  378. 
Cabinet,  English,  375. 
Cabinet  meeting,  377. 
Cadets, — 

Military  Academy,  382. 

Naval  Academy,  383. 
California, — 

constitution  of,  page  i. 

accredited  schools  in,  50. 

judicial  township  in,  82. 

road  districts,  94. 

superintendent  of  schools,  277. 

probate  judge  in,  281. 

governor  of,  321. 
Campaign  funds, — 

collected  for  candidates,  268. 

rewards  for,  377. 

collected  for  officials,  390. 
Campaign,  political,  255. 

conducting  a,  268. 

in  territories,  304. 
Candidates,  — 

must  contribute  money,  268. 

may  contest  elections,  270.    « 
Canvassers,  board  of,  — 

contested  elections,  270. 

duties,  270. 

sheriff  as  member,  272. 

state  board  of,  332. 
Canvass  of  votes,  no. 

in  cities,  241. 

method  of,  270. 

sheriff  assists,  272. 

for  state  officers,  332. 
Capital, — 

definition,  114. 

invested  in  railroads,  331. 
Capital  crimes,  — 

bail  in,  191. 

appeal    in    U.S.    courts,    408, 

4X1. 

Case,  or  suit  at  law,  defined,  173. 
Caucus,  — 

definition,  104. 

ward,  241. 

political,  legislative,  257. 

history  of,  257. 

and  primary,  259. 

states  in,  259. 

in  territories,  304. 


410, 


Census,  386,  5. 

state,  325. 

Census  Bureau  (U.S.),  386. 
Certificates  of  deposit,  151. 
Charge  of  judge  defined,  183. 
Chartered  schools,  48. 
Charters,— 

sea  to  sea,  62. 

township,  86. 

village  or  city,  232. 

county,  252. 

colonial,  309. 
Chattel  mortgages,  90. 

description  of,  145. 
Chattels,  138. 
Check,  definition,  141. 
Checks  and  balances,  365. 

importance  of,  368. 

judiciary  as,  411,  412. 
Child,— 

parents  must  protect,  33. 

entitled  to  support,  34. 

personal  property  of,  35. 

obedience  of,  36. 

parent  may  disinherit,  37. 

entitled  to  education,  40. 

in  school,  49. 

state  protection,  53,  55. 

associates  of,  55. 

emancipation  by  parent,  59. 

community  property  of,  131. 
Childhood,  52. 
Chose  in  action,  137. 
Churches  and  citizens,  12. 
Church  schools,  — 

in  colonies,  42. 

at  present  time,  43. 
Circuit     Court     of     Appeals      (U.S.), 

411. 
Circuit  Court, — 

state,  280,  348,  5. 

national,  410. 
Citizen, — 

definition,  2. 

classes  of,  3. 

duty  of.  5. 

absolute  rights  of,  10,  II. 

knowledge  of,  n. 

political  rights  and  duties,  18. 

schools  and*  the,  48,  55. 

law-abiding,  55. 

elective  franchise,  85. 


325 


INDEX 


Citizen,  — 

passive  rights  in  territories,  304. 

of  other  states,  353. 
City,- 

definition,  77. 

development  of,  229. 

incorporation,  230. 

birth  of,  231. 

town    and    national    features, 
236. 

cooperative  associations,  234. 

wards  in,  236. 

ordinances,  237. 

courts  of,  240. 

elections  in,  241. 

and  county  legislature,  250. 

plots  filed,  327. 

mail  delivered,  384. 
City  council,  236. 

resembles  House  of  Lords,  376. 
Civil  case,  — 

when  brought,  177. 

complaint  or  declaration,  178. 

summons  or  warrant,  179. 

subpcena,  181. 

trial,  182. 

verdict,  183. 

judgment,  184. 

appeal,  185. 

execution,  186. 

in  justice's  court,  195-213. 
Civil  government, — 

definition,  18. 

in  Philippines,  301. 
Civil  injury,  — 

definition,  159. 

and  crime,  170. 
Civil  injury.     See  injuries. 
Civil  officers,  56. 
Civil  service,  — 

comprises,  369,  i. 

department  clerks,  379. 

meaning  of,  389. 

reform,  390. 

Civil  township.     See  township. 
Civil  warrant,  — 

definition,  179. 

legislators  exempt,  338. 

congressmen  exempt,  398. 
Claims,  U.S.,  reference  of,  409. 
Clergymen,  — 

exempt  from  juries,  176. 


233- 


Clergymen, — 

barred  from  legislatures,  336. 
Clerk,— 

township,  90. 

county,  274. 

circuit  court,  293. 

compared  with  Secretary  of  State,  325. 

notified  state  taxes,  327. 

Supreme  Court,  352. 
Coinage,  the,  120. 

forbidden  to  states,  345. 

charge  Treasury  Department,  381. 
Collateral  security,  142. 
Colonies,  — 

European,  298. 

charters  and  constitution,  310. 

from  colony  to  state,  354. 

unions  of,  355. 

contests  with  governors,  354. 

courts  in,  405. 
Colorado,  — 

women,  political  rights  of,  336. 

shortest  sessions  of  legislature,  339. 
Commerce, — 

definition,  118. 

broad  meaning,  402. 
Commercial  law,  140. 
Commissioner,  court,  296. 
Commissioners,  U.S.,  407. 
Committee  of  whole,  341. 
Committees,  legislative,  341. 
Committee  system  of  legislation, — 

in  cities,  242. 

in  state  legislatures,  341. 

in  national  legislature,  400. 
Common  law, — 

defined,  24. 

in  colonies,  24. 

felony  at,  165. 

remedy  in  U.S.  courts,  408. 
Common  law  powers,  — 

none  in  county,  247. 

none  in  national  government,  401. 
Common  school  education, — 

state  aid  to,  42. 

completion  of,  54. 

necessary,  58. 

in  Philippines,  301. 
Community  property,  131. 
Complaining  witness,  188. 
Complaint, — 

in  civil  cases,  178. 


326 


INDEX 


Complaint, — 

in  criminal  cases,  188. 
Compounding  a  felony,  171. 
Comptroller  of  Currency,  381. 
Concurrent  jurisdiction,  177. 
Conduct,  law  of,  13. 
Confederacies  unsuccessful,  366. 
Confederate  states,  122. 
Confederation,  — 

Articles  of,  357. 

plan  of,  358. 

league  of  states,  366. 

court  in,  405. 
Congress, — 

and  public  schools,  42. 

and  public  domain,  63. 

and  territories,  300,  302. 

enabling  acts  of,  305. 

amendments  to  Constitution,  365. 

and  President,  369,  3. 

differs  state  legislature,  396. 

sessions  of,  397. 

legislation  in,  401. 

powers  of,  402,  403. 

magnitude  of  business,  404. 

establishes  system  of  courts,  405. 

power  to  establish  courts,  405. 

control  over  Supreme  Court,  406. 
Congressional  districts,  399. 
Congressional  legislation,  401. 
Congressional  township, — 

description  of,  65. 

definition,  66. 

survey  of,  67-71. 
Congressman-at-large,  399. 
Congressmen,  — 

who  may  vote  for,  399. 

qualifications  for,  399. 

salaries,  398,  399. 
Connecticut,  — 

probate  courts  in,  348,  2. 

New  England  Confederation,  3^5. 

tax  if  on  goods  from  Massachusetts, 
358. 

settlers  in  Wyoming,  358. 

Plan  of  Union,  362. 
Constable, — 

county  officer,  83. 

township  officer,  83,  87. 

sells  goods  upon  execution,  186. 

liability  for  arrests,  188. 

selects  jury,  200. 


Constable, — 

takes  charge  of  jury,  211. 

ward  officer,  236. 

sheriff  as,  292. 
Constitution, — 

defined,  23. 

of  England,  23. 

of  townships,  86. 

of  territory,  300. 
Constitutional  amendment, — 

initiative,  314. 

referendum,  315. 

submission,  364. 

Constitutional  convention,  223,  360. 
Constitutional  office,  271. 
Constitution  of  state  — 

aid  to  private  schools,  43. 

special  acts  to  form  townships,  78. 

jury  system,  175. 

definition,  310. 

colonial  charters  and,  310. 

provisions  in,  311. 

interpretation  of,  312,  363. 

miscellaneous  provisions,  313. 

and  legislature,  336,  340. 
Constitution  (U.S.), — 

Bill  of  Rights  in,  221. 

thirteenth  amendment,  225. 

fifteenth  amendment,  225. 

supreme  in  territories,  301. 

admission  of  states,  305. 

superior  to  state,  312. 

restricts  state  legislatures,  345. 

relation  between  states,  353. 

went  into  effect  1789,  356. 
.  adoption  of,  360. 

a  compromise,  361. 

nature  of  compromise,  362. 

slavery,  362. 

amending,  364,  365. 

three  departments  in,  368. 

Cabinet,  377. 

fixes  size  of  House,  399. 

express  and  implied  powers,  402. 
Consular  service,  393. 
Consuls, — 

appointment,  369,  5. 

duties,  393. 
Contempt  of  court, —     • 

witness  punished  for,  181. 
Contested  elections,  — 

board  of  canvassers  and,  270. 

327 


INDEX 


Contested  elections, — 

ballots  procured,  272. 
Continental  Congress, — 

money  of,  122. 

advice  to  states,  336. 

history  of,  356. 
Continental  union, — 

powers  of,  357. 

separating  influences,  358. 
Contraband  of  war,  226. 
Contracts,  — 

implied,  19,  161. 

written,  27,  163. 

of  minor,  58. 

of  marriage,  30. 

letting  of,  96. 

definition,  140. 

liberty  of,  140. 

principle  of,  140. 

of  insurance,  152. 

civil  injuries  and,  161. 

state  not  to  impair,  345. 

maritime  contracts,  408. 
Cooperative  association,  234. 
Copyright,  386,  3. 
Coroner, — 

acts  in  place  of  sheriff,  273. 

duties  of,  278. 

acts  in  appeals,  347. 
Corporal  punishment, — 

parents  may  inflict,  35. 

teacher  may  inflict,  48. 
Corporations,  — 

definitions,  76. 

advantages,  148. 

powers  divided,  148,  I. 

directors,  148,  2. 

joint  stock  companies,  149. 

in  suits  at  law,  178. 

report  to  Secretary  of  State,  325. 
Correction  lines,  70. 
County, — 

definition,  77,  247,  306. 

as  political  unit,  83. 

business  transacted,  94. 

English,  243. 

New  England,  244. 

construction  of,  244,  317. 

southern,  245. 

compromise,  246. 

size  and  boundaries,  248. 

charter  of,  252. 


County,  — 

valuation  of,  332. 
County  commissioners,  250. 
County  committee  (political), — 

membership,  255. 

officers  of,  255. 

election  returns,  256. 

credentials  to,  260. 
County  convention, — 

delegates  to,  256. 

choice  of  delegates,  260. 

ratio  of  representation,  261. 

method  of  conducting,  264,  266. 

committees  in,  265. 

order  of  business,  265. 
County  legislature,  250. 
County  officers,  nomination  of,  260. 
County  seat, — 

court  meets  at,  249. 

location  and  removal,  249. 
Course  of  study,  54. 

in  Philippines,  301. 

in  army,  394,  4. 
Court  commissioner, — 

state,  296. 
^    U.S.,  407. 
Court,  county,  348,  3. 
Court  crier,  352. 
Courtesy, — 

definition,  130. 

conveyance  of,  132. 
Court  of  claims,  409. 
Court  of  quarter  sessions,  250. 
Courts,— 

puipose  of,  12,  27,  346. 

definition,  172. 

jurisdiction  of,  177. 

adjournment  of,  198. 

board  of  canvassers  as,  270. 

of  record,  280. 

thirteen  sets  in  colonies,  405. 
Courts,  kinds  of, — 

township,  173. 

village,  239. 

city,  police,  etc.,  240. 

county,  249. 

territorial,  303. 

state,  348-353. 

classification,  348. 

supreme  (state),  349. 

national,  405-412. 

impeachment.    See  ward. 

328 


INDEX 


Courts  martial,  395. 

appeal  to  President,  369, 4. 

necessity  for,  405. 
Courts  of  Appeal  (U.S.),  411. 
Courts,  powers  of,  — 

assent  to  formation  of  corporations, 
78. 

dissolves  partnerships,  147. 

dissolves  corporations,  148,  3. 

protect  absolute  rights,  158. 

appoint  inferior  officers  (U.S.),  389. 
Courts  (U.S.),  408-413. 
Credentials,  — 

to  conventions,  260. 

referred  to  committee,  264. 
Credit  agencies,  153. 
Crime.     See  capital  crimes. 

religion  not  a  cloak,  9. 

definition,  10,  163. 

cost  of,  12. 

infant  not  capable  of,  52. 

and  civil  injury,  159. 

under  U.S.,  408. 
Criminal  case,  — 

complaint,  188. 

warrant,  189. 

arrest,  190. 

bail,  191. 

arraignment,  192. 

trial,  193. 

sentence,  194. 
Criminal  law,  25. 

Damages,  — 

founded  on  wrongs,  162. 

imprisonment  for,  179. 
Debt,  — 

imprisonment  for,  179. 

of  county,  252. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  222. 
Declaration,  sent  by,  197. 
Deed,— 

definition,  133. 

as  mortgage,  134,  282. 

for  state  lands,  327. 
Defendant,  — 

definition,  178. 

as  witness,  182. 

in  civil  case,  206. 
Deficiency  judgment,  135. 
Definition,  selection  of,  i. 
Delaware,  hundreds  in,  82. 


Delegates,  — 

to  county  conventions,  256. 

number  determined,  261. 

definition  and  authority,  262. 

alternates  and  proxies,  263. 

territorial,  299. 
Democracy,  — 

definition,  20. 

in  N.E.  townships,  80. 
Democratic  party,  254. 
Departmental  business,  379. 
Departments,  — 

three,  21. 

interdependent,  406. 
Deposit, — 

definition,  151. 

certificate  of,  151. 

interest  on,  151. 
Despotism, — 

definition,  20. 

preferable  to  disorder,  28. 
Diplomas, — 

as  teachers'  certificates,  50. 
Diplomatic  service, — 

Secretary  of  State  and,  380. 

nature  of,  393,  i. 
Disorderly  conduct,  164. 
District  Attorney  (U.S.),— 

reports  to  Attorney  General,  385. 

in  U.S.  courts,  408. 
District  Court,  — 

U.S.,  408. 

concurrent  jurisdiction,  411. 
District  of  Columbia,  299. 
Divorce,  definition,  30. 
Docket,— 

justice's,  184. 

judgment  entered  in,  184. 

description  of,  212. 
Dower, — 

widow's  right  of,  24. 

nature  of,  130. 

conveyance  in  deed, 133. 
Draft,  a  contract,  140. 
Due  form   of   law,  184.      See   law   of 

land. 
Duties,— 

political,  ii. 

social,  legal,  etc.,  12. 
Duties  and  powers,  84. 
Duty,— 

definition,  118. 


329 


INDEX 


Duty,  — 

indirect  tax,  123. 
Economic  rights,  18. 
Education,  — 

industrial,  12,  2. 

necessity  of,  40. 

definition,  40. 

higher  state  aid,  318. 

national,  391. 

bureau  of,  394,  4. 

in  army,  397. 

Elastic  clause  in  Constitution,  403. 
Election  franchise, — 

nature  of,  85. 

women  and,  336. 
Election  inspectors,  board  of,  — 

duties  in  township,  99. 

secure  lists  of  candidates,  104. 

secure  poll  books,  105. 

as  board  of  canvassers,  no. 
Election  machinery, — 

in  township,  104-113. 

in  county,  269. 

in  state,  319. 
Election  notices, — 

by  township  clerk,  90. 

by  Secretary  of  State,  325. 
Election  precincts,  96,  270. 
Elections, — 

method  of  holding  in  township,  98. 

in  county  system,  103. 

use  by  state,  319. 

in  cities,  241. 

returns  from  townships,  256. 

returns  filed  with  clerk,  269. 

certificates  of,  270. 
Electoral  college,  — 

in  Maryland,  327. 

in  national  government,  372. 
Electors,  — 

qualifications,  85. 

registration  of,  98. 

county  system,  103. 

challenge  of,  109. 

oath,  109. 

District  Columbia,  299. 
Electors,— 

in  territories,  304. 

control  national  government,  406. 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  225. 
Embezzlement,  — 

statutory  crime,  25. 


Embryo  state,  299. 
Eminent  domain,  123. 
Employees,  271. 
Employment  agencies,  156. 
Employment  bonds  for,  154. 
Enabling  acts,  305. 
England, — 

constitution  of,  23,  300. 

common  law  in,  24. 

schools  in,  41. 

chartered  schools  in,  48. 

Saxon  conquerors  of,  74. 

township  in,  75. 

justice  of  peace  in,  173. 

jury  system  in,  175. 

Magna  Charta  in,  219. 

freeholders  in,  243. 

sheriff  in,  272. 

territorial  policy  of,  298. 

broke  treaty  of  peace,  357. 

privy  council  in,  375. 

prime  minister  of,  378. 

future  if  colonies  had  remained,  404. 
English  cabinet,  — 

described,  375. 

sovereign  not  present,  377. 

compared  with  American,  378. 
English  schools, — 

authority  of  teacher,  48. 
English  townships,  74. 
Equity,  courts  of,  282. 
Equity  of  redemption,  135. 
Essential  functions,  — 

government,  18,  28. 

taxes  to  support,  123. 

courts,  158. 

Continental  Congress  and,  357. 
Evidence,  — 

production  in  civil  case,  207,  208. 

taken  by  stenographer,  293. 

records  of  courts  in  other  states,  353. 
Evolutionist,  socialist  as,  28,  5. 
Execution,  — 

definition,  39,  186. 

partnership  assets,  147,  148,  3. 

valid  judgment  and,  184. 

sale  of  goods  upon,  186. 
Executive  Department,  — 

definition,  21. 

separation  of,  84. 

county,  271. 

territory,  303. 


330 


INDEX 


Executive  Department, — 

state,  318,  320. 

nation,  377. 
Exemptions, — 

definition,  39. 

partnership  assets,  147. 

surrender  of,  408. 
Experiment  stations,  391. 

support  of,  391. 
Exports,  — 

definition,  118. 

taxing  of,  363. 

in  Constitution,  362. 

Family,  — 

definition,  31. 

given  civil  liberty,  33. 

object  of,  32. 

resources  of,  37. 

arson,  crime  against,  169. 
Father,  authority  of,  35. 
Federalism,  nature  of,  366. 
Federalists, — 

political  party,  367. 

two  in  first  Cabinet,  377. 

implied  powers  and,  403. 
Fee  in  jury  trial,  constable's,  174. 
Felony,  — 

definition,  165. 

compounding,  171. 

examination  for,  187. 
Fence  viewers,  93. 
Financial  reports,  153. 
Fish  commission,  388. 
Fish,  property  in,  127. 
Flag  officer,  395. 
Florida, — 

attorneys  in,  294. 

county  courts  in,  348,  3. 
Foreclosure,  135. 
Foreign  affairs,  — 

Continental  Congress  and,  356. 
Franchise,  — 

elective,  85. 

street  railway,  96. 
Franklin,  Benjamin, — 

Albany  Union,  355. 

perpetual  union,  357. 
Postmaster  General,  384. 
Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia,  316. 
Freehold, — 

definition,  129. 


Freehold,  — 

not  personal  property,  138. 
Frc-eholders,  — 

privileges  of,  129. 

dower  interest  makes,  130. 

courtesy  mukes,  130. 

as  jurors,  176. 

in  England,  243. 

senators  must  be,  in  Delaware,  356. 
Freeholders  chosen,  87. 
Freeman,  7. 
Free  school,  41. 

in  N.E.,  42. 

French  and  Indian  War,  355. 
Fugitives  from  justice,  320,  4. 

U.S.  commissioners  commit,  407. 

General  issue,  199. 

General  of  army,  pay  of,  394. 

Georgia,  militia  district  in,  82. 

Gerrymander,  399. 

Gladstone  on  the  Constitution,  361. 

Grand  jury, — 

evidence  before,  193. 

duty  of,  284. 
Great  register,  use  of,  103. 
Great  seal  of  state,  103. 
Greece,  — 

forms  of  government  in,  20. 

schools  in,  41. 

jury  in,  175. 
Gold  and  silver  as  money,  119. 

inconveniences  of,  121. 

value,  intrinsic,  120. 

legal  tender,  120,  345. 
Gold  certificates,  121. 
Golden  rule,  12. 
Gold  standard,  120. 
Goods, — 

definition,  138. 

protection,  158. 
Government, — 

essential  functions  of,  18,  28. 

origin  of,  19. 

forms  of,  20. 

definitions,  22. 

taxation,  123. 

eminent  domain,  123. 

in  territories,  302. 
Governor,  definition,  320. 
Governor  in  colonies,  309. 

advisers  to,  376. 

331 


INDEX 


Governor  in  territory, — 

appointed  by  President,  303. 

appoints  subordinates,  303. 

reports  to  Secretary  of  State,  380. 
Governor  (state),  — 

civil  executive,  320,  i. 

commander-in-chief,  320,  2. 

legislator,  320.  3. 

judicial  power  of,  320,  4. 

qualifications  for,  321. 

removal  of,  323. 

aids  to,  324. 

advisers  to,  376. 

appoints  U.S.  senators,  398,  3. 
Governor's  council,  320. 

resembles  House  of  Lords,  376. 
Guardian  and  ward,  12,  3,  27. 

Habeas  corpus,  — 

definition,  220. 

state  courts  issue,  291,  349. 

President  may  suspend,  369,  3. 

Lincoln  and,  406. 

U.S.  courts  issue,  413. 
Hamilton,  Alexander, — 

loose-constructionists,  366,  403. 

first  Secretary  of  Treasury,  377. 
Harbors,  improvement  of,  382. 
Health,— 

officers  in  township,  93. 

in  county  system,  94. 

board  in  township,  100. 

board  in  county  system,  103. 

board  in  city,  238. 

state  board,  332. 
Highway  commissioner, — 

in  township,  92. 

in  county  system,  94. 

township  board  and,  96. 

reversal  of  decisions,  97. 
Highway  district, — 

county  in  New  England,  244. 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  366. 
Home, — 

communism  and,  28,  34. 

definition,  29. 

government  a  monarchy,  33. 
Homestead,  — 

definition,  38. 

wife's  consent  to  sell,  38. 
Homestead  laws, — 

lands  acquired  under,  73,  i. 


Honesty,  necessity  for,  61. 

House  of  Representatives  (state), — 

brings  action  of  impeachment,  323. 

Speaker  of,  338. 

subordinate  powers,  338. 
House  of  Representatives  (U.S.),  — 

territorial  delegates,  299. 

elective,  399. 

size  of  first  two,  399. 

organization    and    special     powers, 

399- 

vacancies,  how  filled,  399. 

committees,  400. 

qualifications  of  members,  399,  5. 
Hundred,  division  of  county,  82. 
Husband,  — 

must  sign  to  convey  courtesy,  133. 

not  to  testify  against  wife,  181. 

Ignorance  of  law,  as  excuse,  54. 
Illinois, — 

board  of  supervisors  in,  250. 

state  senate,  335. 
Imitator,  child  as,  55. 
Impeachment,  — 

township  officers,  97. 

in  Constitution,  313. 

Senate  as  court  of,  323,  406. 

House  to  bring,  323,  399. 

Secretary  of  State  as  clerk,  325. 

of  governor  and  judges,  366,  405. 

of  President,  370. 
Implied  powers,  — 

Constitution,  363,  403. 

discussions  over,  366. 
Imports, — 

definition,  118. 

in  Constitution,  361. 
Indemnity  companies,  154. 
Indian  affairs,  386,  4. 
Indian  corn  as  money,  119. 
Indian  schools,  391,  2. 
Indictment,- nature  of,  284. 
Indorsement,  contract,  140. 
Indorser,  definition,  142. 
Industrial  conditions,  216. 
Infant, — 

defined,  52. 

and  crime,  52. 
Influences  for  evil,  12. 
Initiative,  nature  of,  314. 
Injunctions,  defined,  290. 

332 


INDEX 


Injuries,  — 

two  kinds  of,  159. 

founded  on  contract,  161. 

founded  on  wrongs,  162. 
Insurance, — 

definition  and  kinds,  152. 

commissioner  of,  330. 
Interest, — 

definition,  151. 

in  building-ioan,  155. 

in  Constitution,  313. 

on  state  funds,  326. 
Interior,  — 

Department  of,  386. 

bureaus  in,  386. 
International  law,  160. 

public,  nature  of,  392. 

private,  396. 

Inventions,  effect  of,  217,  229. 
Iowa,  nomination  papers  in,  267. 
Issue,  — 

joining  of,  199. 

general,  199. 

Jail  limits,  179. 
Jails,— 

prisoner  awaits  trial  in,  187. 

county,  251. 

charge  of  sheriff,  272. 
Jefferson,  Thomas, — 

quoted,  74. 

strict-constructionist,  366,  403. 

first  Secretary  of  State,  379. 
Joint-stock  companies,  149. 

building-loan  association,  155. 
Judge,  circuit,  — 

important  office,  291. 

charge  of,  183. 

decides  certain  cases,  184. 

fixes  bail  bonds,  191. 

supervisory  powers,  286. 
Judges,  — 

Supreme  Court  (state),  352. 

territorial  courts,  405. 

national  courts,  405-413. 
Judgment, — 

deficiency,  135. 

kept  alive,  148,  3. 

default,  179. 

definition,  184. 

reversed,  185. 

in  civil  case,  212. 


Judgment,  — 

set  aside,  288. 

against  President,  406. 
Judicial  department, — 

definition,  21. 

separation  of,  84. 

township,  173. 

county,  249. 

purpose  of,  347. 

state,  348. 

national,  407. 
Judicial  district,— 

New  England  County  as,  244. 
Judicial  township,  — 

civil  organization,  79. 

described,  82. 
Junket,  definition,  340. 
Jural  legislation,  27. 
Jurisdiction, — 

definition,  177. 

concurrent,  177,  283. 

original,  177,  349. 

appellate,  281,  349,  412. 

criminal,  187. 

U.S.  courts,  405-412. 
Jurors,  — 

qualifications,  176. 

examination,  204. 

challenges,  204. 

electors  as,  285. 
Jury,— 

duty  to  serve  on,  12,  3. 

eminent  domain,  123. 

part  of  court,  172. 

justices,  174. 

in  civil  actions,  174. 

in  criminal  actions,  174. 

history  of,  175. 

striking  a,  200. 

selection  of,  202. 

grand,  284. 

petit,  285. 

finds  the  facts,  287. 

U.S.  courts,  408,  413. 
Justice  of  peace, — 

county  offices,  83. 

township  offices,  87. 

examining  magistrate,  187,  348,  I. 

liability  for  issuing  warrants,  188. 

fixes  bail,  191. 

orders  enforceable,  283. 

in  territories,  303. 

333 


INDEX 


Justice  of  peace,  — 

report  to  Secretary  of  State,  325. 

like  U.S.  commissioners,  409. 
Justice's  courts, — 

township,  173. 

civil  jurisdiction,  177,  348,  I. 

criminal  jurisdiction,  187,  348,  i. 

rank  and  number,  348,  i. 

Kentucky, — 

superintendent  of  schools  in,  277. 

superior  court  in,  349. 
Kings,  divine  right,  19. 

Labor,  - 

right  to  perform,  12,  2. 

definition,  115. 

division  of,  116. 
Labor  Department,  388. 
Laborers  in  territories,  304. 
Land,  definition,  124. 
Land  office  (U.S.),  386,  2. 
Lands, — 

acquiring,  73. 

(1)  homestead  laws,  73,  i. 

(2)  preemption,  73,  2. 

(3)  timber  culture,  73,  3. 

See  public  domain. 
Larceny,  — 

common  law  crime,  25. 

petty,  164. 

of  letters,  363. 
Law,  — 

defined,  14. 

national  law,  15. 

of  property,  16. 

and  constitution,  23. 

common,  defined,  24. 

statute,  defined,  25. 

consists  of  two  parts,  26. 

administration  and  jural,  27. 

compulsory  school,  40. 

a  shield  for  minor,  58. 

commercial,  defined,  140. 

international,  160. 

public  and  private,  160. 

permanence  of,  214. 

courts  of,  282. 

local  option,  315. 

courts  interpret,  346. 
Law  of  land,  — 

prescribes  forms  to  follow,  10. 


Law  of  land,  — 

justifies  force,  158. 

in  Magna  Charta,  219. 

constitution  supreme,  23. 
Lawyers.     See  attorneys-at-law. 
Legal  duties,  12,  3. 
Legal  tender, — 

money  as,  119. 

definition,  120. 

paper  money  as,  121. 

state  restrictions,  345. 
Legislature.  See  acts  of. 
Legislators, — 

governors  as,  303,  320,  3. 

qualifications  of  state,  336. 

privileges  of,  337. 

arrest  on  civil  warrant,  338. 

arrest  on  criminal  complaint,  338. 

pay  of,  339. 
Legislature, — 

townships,  87,  95,  96. 

county,  250. 

territorial,  302. 

in  colonies,  309. 

state,  335. 

Albany  Plan,  355,  2. 
Legislature  caucus,  257. 
Legislature  Department, — 

definition,  21. 

separation  of,  84. 

two  houses,  335,  337. 
Legislature,  (state), — 

may  incorporate  townships,  78. 

extent  of  powers,  312. 

pass  laws  over  veto,  320,  3,  365. 

membership  determined,  336. 

U.S.  officials  in,  336. 

length  of  sessions,  339. 

sessions,  339. 

committees  in,  340. 

enacting  law,  341. 

public  acts  of,  342. 

local  acts  of,  343. 

lobby  in,  344. 

constitutional  limitations,  345. 

frames  amendments  to  Constitution, 

364- 

presidential  electors,  372. 
national  and  state,  396. 
elects  U.S.  senators,  398,  3. 
Liberty, — 
religious,  9. 


334 


INDEX 


Liberty,  — 

of  speech,  9,  221,  338. 

of  contract,  140. 

Liberty.    See  bulwarks  of  liberty. 
Library,  state,  334. 
Lieutenant  governor,  — 

president  of  senate,  322. 

debate  but  not  vote,  322. 

removal  of,  323. 
Life,— 

protection  of,  6. 

expectancy  of,  152. 

highest  offence  against,  168. 

in  territories,  304. 
Life  estate,  129. 
Limited  partnership,  147. 
Lincoln,  Abraham, — 

power  exercised  by,  369, 2. 

habeas  corpus  and,  406. 
Line  officers,  395. 
Liquor  laws,  — 

Maine  and  South  Carolina,  215. 

licenses  granted,  313. 

U.S.,  401. 
Lobby,— 

nature  of,  344. 

Local  acts  of  legislature,  343. 
Local  agents  of  state,  319. 
Local  option  law,  315. 
Local  self-government, — 

European  colonies,  298. 

territories,  304. 

colonies,  354. 

king  attempts  to  destroy,  355,  3. 
Loose-constructionists,  — 

political  views  of,  28,  2 ;  366. 

political  party,  403. 
Lotteries, — 

Argentine  republic  allows,  215. 

prohibition  of,  313. 
Louisiana, — 

court  of  appeals  in,  34.9. 

Magna  Charta,  219. 

Mail  delivery,  city  and  country,  384. 

Majority,  definition,  in. 

Malice,  definition,  168. 

Mandamus, — 

defined,  289. 

courts  issuing  (state),  291,  349. 

U.S.  courts,  412. 

against  political  officer,  412. 


Manslaughter,  definition,  168. 
Marine  corps,  395. 
Maritime  contract,  408. 
Marriage,  — 

relation  of,  30. 

licenses,  275. 

Marshal,  chief  justice,  363. 
Marshals, — 

under  Attorney  General,  385,  2. 

U.S.  officers,  408. 
Maryland, — 

election  of  senators,  337. 

electoral  plan  in  U.S.,  371. 
Massachusetts,  — 

administrative  boards  in,  332. 

judges  for  life,  351. 

excludes  British  goods,  358. 

Shays's  Rebellion,  359. 

gerrymander  in,  399,  4. 
Massachusetts  Bay  Company, — 

not  a  state,  306. 

charter  of,  309. 

New  England  Confederation,  355,  i. 
Medical  attendance  of  poor,  6. 
Mental  habit,  214. 
Meridians, — 

prime,  67. 

convergence  of,  69. 

guide,  69. 
Merit  system,  390. 
Message  of  governor,  320,  3. 

of  President,  369,  3. 
Michigan, — 

size  school  district  in,  45. 

felony  in,  165. 

compromise  county  in,  246. 

size  counties  in,  248; 

supervisors,  250.  • 

canvassers,  board  of,  270. 

supreme  court,  287. 

size  legislature,  335. 
Military  Academy,  382. 
Military  Justice,  Bureau,  394,  3. 
Military  rank, — 

in  army,  394,  2. 

in  navy,  395. 
Militia,— 

sheriff  and,  272,333. 

constitutions  authorize,  313. 

governor  commands,  320,  2. 

national  guard,  333. 

organization,  333. 


335 


INDEX 


Militia,— 

called  out  by  President,  369,  2. 
Militia  district,  82. 
Ministerial  officers, — 

in  township,  87. 

definition,  271. 

mandamus  and,  412. 
Ministers,  foreign, — 

appointment,  369,  5. 

Secretary  of  State  and,  380. 

number  and  salaries,  393,  I. 
Minor,  — 

contracts  of,  58. 

suit  by  next  friend,  58. 

responsibility,  59. 

responsibility  for  debts,  59. 

enlistment  of,  394,  i. 
Mints  of  U.S.,  120. 
Misdemeanor, — 

definition,  164. 

tried  by  justice,  187. 
Missouri,  shoestring  district,  399,  4. 
Mohammedan  religion,  19. 
Money,  — 

payment  and  receipt  of,  97. 

articles  used  as,  119. 

definition,  119. 

paper,  121. 

for  campaigns,  256,  268. 

county  funds,  275. 

state  not  to  coin,  345. 

counterfeit,  381. 

issued  by  U.S.  Treasury,  381. 
Moral  duties,  12,  4. 
Moral  law,  violation  of,  163. 
More,  Sir  Thomas,  28,  4. 
Mortgage,  real  estate, — 

definition,  134. 

deed  as,  134. 

registration  of,  136. 

amount  due  fund,  296. 
Mortgages,  chattel, — 

filed,  90. 

definition,  145. 

recorded,  296. 
Municipal  corporations,  76. 
Municipal  courts,  348,  4. 
Municipal  ownership,  28,  2. 
Murder,  definition,  168. 

Nation,  — 

state  union,  366. 


Nation, — 

sovereignty  of,  367. 
National  banks,  — 

notes  as  money,  121. 

issue  money,  151. 

Treasury  Department  and,  381. 
National  currency,  — 

Continental  Congress,  356. 

necessity,  359. 
National  features, — 

village,  city,  and  county,  236. 
National  government,  powers  of, — 

coin  money,  120. 

express  and  implied,  363. 
National  Guard.    See  militia. 
National  party  and  court,  361. 
National  revenue,  118. 
Naturalization  laws, — 

Congress   and    state  legislature  may 

pass,  345. 

Naturalized  citizens,  3. 
Naval  Academy,  383. 
Navy  Department,  — 

civilians  as  secretary,  379. 

business  of,  383. 

organization  of,  395. 
Necessaries, — 

for  minor,  58. 

for  sick  person,  100. 
New  England,  public  schools,  42. 
New  England  Confederation,  355,  I. 
New  England  township,  — 

history  of,  75. 

political  unit,  77. 

pure  democracy,  80. 

life  of  community,  244. 
New  Hampshire,  — 

largest  House,  335. 

supreme  judges  in,  351. 
New  Jersey,  — 

court  of  errors  and  appeals,  349. 

charges  ground  rent  N.Y.,  358. 

plan  of  union,  362,  i. 
New  York,  — 

courts,  probate,  281. 

courts,  higher,  287. 

salary  of  governor,  321. 

administrative  boards,  332. 

size  of  legislature,  335. 

pay  of  legislators,  339. 

courts  last  resort,  349. 

levies  duties  on  goods,  358. 

336 


INDEX 


New  York,— 

threatens  war  on  New  Hampshire,  358. 
New  York  Stock  Exchange,  150. 
Nomination,  — 

county  officers,  262. 

ward  officers,  262. 

by  petition,  267. 
Nomination  papers,  267. 
Northwest  Territory,  — 

schools  in,  42. 

public  lands  in,  63. 
Notary  public,  — 

definition,  133. 

like  U.S.  commissioners,  407. 
Note,  — 

with  mortgage,  134. 

method  of  collection,  137. 

a  contract,   140. 

promissory,  142. 
Nuisance,  abatement  of,  100. 

Officers  (county), — 

supervisors,  250. 

sheriff,  272. 

clerk,  274. 

treasurer,  275. 

register  of  deeds,  276. 

superintendent  of  schools,  277. 

coroner,  278. 

public  administrators,  278. 

surveyor,  278. 

in  territories,  302. 
Officers  (state), — 

official  communications  for,  274. 

salaries,  313. 

choice  of,  319. 

governor,  320. 

lieutenant  governor,  322. 

secretary  of  state,  325. 

treasurer,  326. 

auditor  general,  327. 

attorney  general,  328. 

superintendent  of  public  instruction, 

329- 

commissioner  of  insurance,  330. 
railroad  commissioner,  331. 
administrative  boards,  332. 
cannot  enforce  U.S.  laws,  367. 
Officers  (U.S.  civil),— 

election  and  appointment,  367. 
not  to  execute  state  laws,  367. 
inferior  officers,  390. 


Officers  (U.S.  civil),— 

classified  and  unclassified,  390. 
Official  boards.     See  boards. 
Ohio,— 

felony  in,  165. 

counties  in,  246. 

courts  in,  280. 
Oligarchy,  defined,  20. 
Ordinance  1787, — 

quotation  from,  40. 

provision  for  schools,  42. 

importance  of,  224. 

Magna  Charta  of  West,  300. 

usurpation  of  power,  359. 
Ordinances  of  city,  237. 
Original  jurisdiction,  177.     See  separate 

courts. 
Original  package,  401. 

Paper  money,  — 

described,  121. 

value  depends  on,  122. 

of  Continental  Congress,  122. 

of  confederate  states,  122. 
Pardons,  — 

governor  of  territory,  303. 

governor  of  state,  320, 4. 

board  of,  332. 

President,  369,  4. 
Parent  and  child,  12. 
Parents,  — 

authority  of,  33. 

among  Romans,  35. 

over  personal  property  of  child, 

35- 

and  teachers,  48. 

entitled  to  wages  of  children,  54. 

responsibility  for  acts  of  child,  59. 

may  emancipate  child,  59. 
Parliament. — 

power  of,  23,  312. 

and  colonies,  309. 

dissolution,  375. 
Parliamentary  law,  266. 
Partners,  — 

advantages,  148,  2. 

responsibilities,  148, 3. 

how  sued,  148,  2. 
Partnership,  — 

definition,  147. 

formed  and  dissolved,  147. 

and  joint-stock  companies,  149. 


337 


INDEX 


Patent  office,  386,  3. 
Pawn,  definition,  145. 
Penalty,  definition,  26. 

township  officers,  88. 
Pennsylvania,  — 

sessions  of  legislature,  340. 

supreme  judges  in,  351. 

Wyoming  valley,  358. 

Indian  school  at  Carlisle,  391,  2. 
Pension  office,  386. 
Pensions,  tax  for,  123. 
People's  courts,  172. 
Peremptory  challenges,  204. 
Perjury,  — 

false  oath  of  elector,  109. 

definition,  167. 
Personal  habits,  61. 
Personal  liberty,  7. 
Personal  property,  — 

husband  may  sell,  38. 

exemptions,  39. 

nature  of,  114. 

buildings  as,  125. 

varieties,  137. 

goods  and  chattels,  138. 

no  registry  of,  139. 

title  to,  139. 

burning  of,  169. 
Personal  security,  6. 
Petition,  right  of,  221. 
Petit  jury,  285. 

drawing  by  clerk,  293. 
Petty  officers,  395. 
Physician  as  health  officer,  93,  100. 
Philippines,  — 

acquisition,  297. 

civil  government  in,  301. 
Plaintiff,— 

definition,  178. 

as  witness,  182. 

state  as,  188. 

statement  of,  in  civil  case,  205. 
Platform,  — 

political,  254. 

plank  in,  254. 
Plunder,  taxation  and,  123. 
Plurality,  definition,  in. 
Policemen,  city  peace  officers,  240. 
Police  officer,  sheriff  as,  272. 
Police  power,  — 

defined,  5. 

principle,  13. 


Policy  of  insurance,  152. 
Political  duties,  u. 

economy,  18. 

divisions,  76. 

platform,  254. 

campaigns,  255. 

meetings,  256. 

caucuses,  257. 

clubs,  258. 

rights  in  territories,  304. 
Political  parties,  — 

definition,  254. 

organization  in  township  and  wards, 
256. 

permanent  organization,  258. 
Political  unit,  — 

township  as,  77. 

county  as,  83,  245. 
Poll  lists,— 

kept  by  election  clerks,  no. 

deposited  in  ballot-box,  no. 
Polls,  definition,  106. 
Poll  tax  for  schools,  51. 
Polygamy  in  Utah,  305. 
Poor,  — 

medical  attendance  of,  6. 

care  of,  in  townships,  89,  253. 
Poor  commission,  253. 
Popular  expressions,  226. 
Possession,  right  of,  143. 
Postage,  rates  of,  384. 
Postoffice  Department,  386. 

Continental  Congress  and,  356. 
Powers  and  duties,  84. 
Precincts,  — 

in  townships,  103. 

elections  in  cities,  241. 

politics  in,  256. 
Preemption  laws,  73-82. 
Presidential  succession,  374. 
President  of  United  States,  — 

appoints  territorial  governors,  303. 

appoints  territorial  judges,  303. 

authority  over  militia,  369,  2. 

elective  office,  367,  3. 

derivation  of  name,  369. 

civil  executive,  369,  i. 

commander-in-chief,  369,  2. 

legislator,  369,  3. 

judicial  duties,  369,  4. 

foreign  representation,  369,  5. 

qualifications  and  oath,  370. 

338 


INDEX 


President  of  United  States,  — 

salary,  370. 

choice  by  electors,  372. 

choice  by  Congress,  373. 

selects  cabinet,  377. 

appoints  cadets,  382. 

Attorney  General  gives  legal  advice, 
385. 

appoints  officers,  389. 

control  over,  406. 
President  pro  tempore,  322,  337. 
Primaries,  — 

good  citizens  and,  n. 

nominate  delegates,  256. 

definition,  259. 

method  of  conducting,  260. 
Prime  Minister,  375. 

duties  of,  378. 
Prisoners,  — 

method  of  arrest,  190. 

resistance  by,  190. 

admitting  to  bail,  191. 

arraignment,  192. 

attorney  for,  193. 

preliminary  examination,  193. 

trial,  193. 

sentence,  194. 

indictment  of,  220. 

county  attorney  and,  295. 
Prisons,  — 

necessity  for,  12. 

discipline  in,  26. 

constitutions  and,  313. 

military,  394,  3. 
Private  law, — 

definition,  160. 

in  territories,  302. 
Private  property,  — 

right  of,  8,  114,  143. 

nature  of,  114. 

protection  of,  158. 

socialists  opposed  to,  28,  3. 

in  territories,  304. 

regulated  by  state,  346. 
Probate  court,  — 

purpose  of,  281. 

appeals  from,  349,  2. 

rank  and  number,  348,  2. 
Procedure  in  courts, — 

territorial,  302. 

Supreme  Court  regulates,  351. 

in  U.S.  courts,  413. 


Profit,  — 

socialists  oppose,  28,  3. 

essential  to  partnership,  147. 

political  parties  and,  258. 
Prohibition,  writ  of,  349. 
Promotion,  definition,  149. 
Property,  — 

private,  8. 

law  of,  16. 

in  common,  31,  37,  74. 

real  and  personal,  125. 

community,  131. 

obtaining  possession  of,  before  suit, 

180. 

Protective  tariff,  28,  2. 
Public  acts,  nature,  342. 
Public  domain, — 

for  schools,  42. 

in  original  states,  62. 

cessions  to  Congress,  63,  297. 

disposal  of  lands  in,  64. 

survey  of,  65. 

acquiring  lands  in,  73. 

Ordinance  of  1787,  224. 

Indian  reservations  in,  386,  4. 
Public  lands  for  railroads,  28,  2 ;  64. 
Public  law, — 

definition,  160. 

in  territories,  302. 
Public  men,  influence,  227. 
Public  office,  definition,  271. 
Public  officers, — 

exempt  from  jury  service,  17. 

identical  duties  in  city  and  county,  235. 
Public  policy,  considerations  of,  123. 
Public  schools,  taxation  for,  40,  51. 
Public  sentiment  and  police,  5. 
Public  service,  definition,  369,  i. 
Punishments, — 

corporal,  35,  48. 

in  navy,  395. 
Purchase,  title  by,  132. 
Pure  democracy, — 

definition,  20. 

example  of,  80. 


Quarantine, — 

in  townships,  96. 

in  states,  332. 

Quit-claim  deed,  definition,  133. 
Quorum, — 

legislatures,  335. 

339 


* 


INDEX 


Quorum, — 

election  of  President,  373. 

election  of  Vice-President,  374. 

U.S.  Senate,  374. 

U.S.  House,  373. 
Quo  warranto,  purpose  of,  349. 

Railroads,  — 

government  lands,  64,  73. 

stock  exchanges,  150. 

commissioner  of,  331. 
Ratio  of  representation, — 

county  convention,  260. 

legislative,  336. 

congressional,  399,  i. 
Real  estate,  definition,  128. 
Real  property, — 

township,  96. 

definition,  124. 

interest  in,  128. 

title  to,  132. 

registration  of,  136. 

county  may  own,  247. 
Records,  — 

examination  of,  90. 

kept  by  clerk,  90. 

delivered  to  successor,  113. 
Recount  of  votes,  270. 
Referendum,  315. 

Register  of  deeds,  county  officer,  276. 
Registration,  board  of, — 

duties  in  townships,  98. 

meeting  of,  105. 
Registrations, — 

deeds  and  mortgages,  136. 

chattel  mortgages,  145. 
Religion, — 

cloak  for  crime,  9. 

necessity  for,  12,  i,  4. 

influence  on  laws,  218. 
Religious  belief  and  worship,  9. 
Religious     organizations,    township 

79- 

Reporter,  Supreme  Court,  352. 
Reports,  Supreme  Court,  350. 
Representatives  (state) ,  336,  338. 
Republic,  definition,  20. 
Republican  party,  254. 
Reputation,  — 

right  to,  6. 

protection  of,  158. 

damages  for  injury  to,  162. 


as, 


Revenue  of  national  government,  118. 

Requisition  papers,  320,  4. 
Review,  board  of,  — 

township,  101. 

county  system,  103. 

supervisors  as,  251. 
Revolutionary  War,  354;  35=5,  3. 
Revolutionist,  anarchist  as,  28,  5. 
Rhode  Island,— 

counties  of,  248. 

salary  of  governor,  321. 

pay  of  legislators,  339. 
Rights,— 

individual,  p.  i. 

inalienable,  p.  i. 

absolute,  4. 

value  of,  10. 

economic,  18. 

reciprocal  with  duties,  55. 

passive  and  political,  304. 
Ring,  political, — 

definition,  258. 

in  administration,  375. 
Riots,  — 

sheriff  to  quell,  272. 

governor  orders  militia,  320,  2. 
Rivers  and  harbors,  382. 
Road  districts, — 

township,  92. 

county  system,  94. 

in  N.E.,  244. 
Rosebery,  Lord,  on  U.S.,  414. 

Sale,— 

definition,  117. 

transfer  by,  132. 

a  contract,  140. 

personal  property,  144. 

bill  of,  144. 
Saloons, — 

location,  55. 

licenses  to  conduct,  313. 
Savings  banks, — 

definition,  151. 

feature  in  building  and  loan,  155. 
School,  — 

history  of,  41. 

N.E.,42. 
School,— 

support  of,  42,  51,  224. 

definition,  44. 

trustee,  47. 


34° 


INDEX 


School,— 

Middle  Ages,  48. 

regulations,  49,313. 

accredited,  50. 

lands,  64. 

Philippines,  301. 

Indian,  391,  2. 

U.S.  army,  394,  4. 
Schoolboard, — 

duties,  46. 

in  cities,  238. 
School   district,  — 

definition  and  size,  45. 

political  division,  76. 

formation,  102. 

length  of  school,  277. 
School  inspectors,  102. 

county  system,  103. 
School  officers, — 

election,  46. 

removal,  97. 

appointment,  102. 

right  to  vote  for,  130. 
School  superintendent, — 

county  officer,  102. 

school  inspector,  103. 

general  duties  of,  277. 

judge  of  probate  as,  281. 

local  state  officer,  319. 
Sciences, — 

law  of  physical,  17. 
Search  warrants,  413. 
Secretary  of  Agriculture,  387. 
Secretary  of  Interior,  386. 
Secretary  of  Navy,  383. 
Secretary  of  State,  — 

state,  323,  325. 

U.S.,  380. 

Secretary  of  Treasury,  381. 
Secretary  of  War,  — 

duties  of,  382,  384. 

reports  to  Congress,  379. 

Philippine  Commission  and,  301. 
Secret  service,  381. 
Sections  of  land, — 

in  Michigan  school  district,  45. 

survey,  71. 

description,  72. 
Selectmen,  board  of,  87,  2. 
Self,— 

support,  12. 

control,  60. 


Self,— 

defence,  158. 
Senate  (state),— 

aids  governor,  320. 

court  of  impeachment,  323. 

advantage  over  house,  337  ;  398,  i. 
Senate  (U.S.),— 

may  defeat  treaties,  369,  5. 

Vice-President  and,  376. 

and  appointments,  389. 

elects  Vice-President,  398,  2. 

committees,  398,  2. 

composition,  398. 

vacancies  filled,  398,  3. 
Senatorial  courtesy,  389. 
Senators  (state),  336,337. 
Senators  (U.S.),— 

not  to  be  state  officers,  367,  4. 

election  and  qualification,  398,  3. 
Sentence  of  court,  194. 
Servants  in  the  family,  31. 
Shakers,  communists,  28,  4. 
Sheriff,— 

origin  of  title,  243,  272. 

powers  of,  272. 

assistants  of,  273. 

officer  of  circuit  court,  292. 

local  agent  of  state,  319. 

election  state  officers,  325. 
Silver,  — 

as  money,  119,  122. 

demonetized,  120. 

certificates  as  money,  121. 
Slang,  avoidance  of,  61. 
SI  ate,  in  caucus,  259. 
Slaveholders,  power  of,  7. 
Slavery, — 

in  Northwest  Territory,  63. 

in  Western  Territory,  63. 

disputes  over,  358. 

in  Constitution,  362,  2,  3. 
Slaves,— 

definition,  7. 

Emancipation  Proclamation,  225. 

in  Southern  colonies,  245. 

importation  of,  362,  3. 
Smithsonian  Institution, — 

independent  department,  388. 

purpose  of,  391,  i. 
Social  duties,  12,  4. 

compact,  19,  222. 

customs,  215. 

34' 


INDEX 


Socialists,  aim  of,  28,  3. 
Society, — 

organized,  4. 

aim  of,  9. 

and  law  of  property,  16. 
Solicitor  General,  385. 
South  Carolina,  — 

liquor  laws  of,  215. 

counties  in,  248. 

continental  union,  355,  3. 
South  Dakota,  initiative,  314. 
Sovereignty  (state) ,  — 

meaning  of,  307. 

limited  by  Constitution,  354. 

Continental  Congress  and,  357. 
Speaker  of  House, — 

state,  338. 

U.S.,  399,  3. 
Spoils  system,  390. 
State,— 

as  organized  society,  4. 

prescribes  business  rules,  27. 

definition,  77,  306,  361. 

sheriff  as  officer,  272. 

embryo,  299. 

admission  of  new,  305. 

division  of,  305. 

sovereign,  307. 

boundaries  of,  308. 

combination  of  counties,  317. 

machinery,  317. 

business  association,  318. 

local  agents  of,  319. 

jurisdiction   over  personal  property, 
358. 

and  nation,  distinction,  367. 
State  board  of  education  in  California, 

So. 
State,  executive  department,  — 

definition,  21. 

governor  as  chief,  320,  I. 

subordinates,  324. 
State  institutions, — 

control  of,  332. 

oversight,  340. 
State  lands,  — 

patents  for,  325. 

sale  for  taxes,  327. 
State  party  and  constitution,  361. 
States,  original  thirteen, — 

ceded  lands  to  Congress,  63. 

system  of  surveys  in,  65. 


States,  original  thirteen, — 

boundaries  of  sections,  72. 

extent  of  territory,  297. 

powers  of,  309. 

change  from  colonies,  355. 

local  affairs  in,  355. 

separating  influences,  358. 

unifying  influences,  359. 
Statute  law,— 

defined,  25. 

how  made,  341. 
Statutes  of  limitation,  213. 
Steamship  companies,  subsidies,  28,2. 
Stenographer,  duties  of,  293. 
Stock,  — 

shares,  148. 

listing  on  exchange,  150. 
Stock  Exchange,  150. 
Strict-constructionists,  — 

political  views  of,  28,  2. 

political  party,  403. 
Subordinate  boards,  — 

township,  95. 

appeals  from,  95. 

city,  238. 

county,  253. 
Subpoena,  — 

definition,  181. 

service,  181. 
Suffrage,  right  of,  85. 
Sugar  factories,  bounties  for,  28,  2. 
Suit  at  law,  — 

duty  to  maintain,  12,  3. 

minor  and  next  friend,  58. 

highway   commissioner    may    bring, 
92. 

for  personal  property,  137. 

collect  certificate  of  deposit,  151. 

must  be  timely,  162. 

plead  one's  own  case,  173. 

defined,  173. 

trial  of,  182. 

against  county,  252. 

against  state,  252,  409. 

files  preserved,  280. 
Summons, — 

definition,  179. 

issued,  195. 

service  and  return,  196. 
Superintendent  public  instruction, — 

teachers  and,  50. 

states,  329. 


342 


INDEX 


Superintendent  public  instruction, — 

territories,  303. 
Supervisors,  board  of,  — 

assist  to  form  township,  78. 

county  system,  103. 

composition  of,  250. 

judicial  powers,  270. 

circuit  judge  and,  286. 
Supreme  Court  (U.S.),  412. 

interprets  Constitution,  363. 

Attorney  General  in,  387. 

President  and,  408. 
Supreme  court   (state), — 

and  circuit  court,  185. 

decides  question  of  law,  349. 

jurisdiction  and  power,  349. 

regulates  lower  courts,  350. 

administrative  officers  of,  353. 

decisions  of  other  state  courts,  350. 
Supreme  court, — 

territorial,  303. 

Talesmen, — 

definition,  203. 

circuit  court,  285. 
Tammany,  political  club,  258. 
Taney,  Chief  Justice,  406. 
Tariff,  — 

protective,  28,  2. 

definition,  118. 
Taxation,  — 

definition,  123. 

extent,  316. 
Taxes,  — 

public  school,  40,  42,  51. 

assessed  in  township,  89. 

assessed    in    county     unit     system, 
94. 

board  of  review  and,  101. 

direct  and  indirect,  123. 

collector  of  county,  275. 

paid  to  state  treasurer,  326. 

state,  how  apportioned,  327. 

railroad,  331. 

state  equalization,  332. 
Tax  law,  method  of  enforcing,  21. 
Teacher,  — 

defined,  44. 

authority  of,  48,  84. 

examination,  50. 

support  by  taxation,  51. 

care  for  children,  53. 


Teacher,  — 

certificate  of,  50,  329. 

free  from  jury  service,  176. 
Teachers'  agencies,  156. 
Territorial  courts,  — 

appeals  from,  303. 

appointment  judges,  303. 

district,  303. 

justices,  303. 

supreme,  303. 

constitution  and,  405. 
Territorial  expansion,  297. 
Territories,  — 

historical,  297. 

American,  299. 

constitution  of,  300. 
Territories  organized, — 

government  in,  302. 

scope  of  legislation,  302. 

executive  and  judicial,  303. 

local  life,  304. 

admission  as  states,  305,  311. 
Texas,  — 

not  a  territory,  299. 

two  supreme  courts,  349. 
Three  departments,  21. 

separation  into,  84,  365,  368. 

territories,  302. 

states,  311. 

nation,  368. 

Timber  Culture  Act,  73,  3. 
Title  and  guarantee  companies,  154. 
Title,  personal  property,  139. 

shown  by  possession,  140. 

quality  of,  143. 

transfer  by  sale,  144. 
Title  to  real  property,  132. 

examination,  136. 

certificate  of  guaranty,  136,  154. 

shown  by  written  instrument,  139. 

Attorney    General    U.S.   reports   on, 

385. 

Tobacco  as  money,  119. 
Town  board, — 

duties  of,  87. 

chairman,  89. 

clerk,  90. 

audits  accounts,  91. 

legislation  duties,  95,  96. 

judicial  powers,  97. 

election  inspectors,  99. 

appeal  to  circuit  court,  348. 


343 


INDEX 


Town  meeting, — 

influence  of,  81. 

date  of  holding,  83. 

clerk,  90. 
Township,  — 

congressional,  66. 

judicial.     See  judicial  township. 
Township,  civil,  — 

origin,  74. 

definition.  76. 

political  unit,  77. 

birth  of,  78. 

civil  and  religious  organization,  79. 

county  unit  and,  83. 

charters  of,  86. 

distribution  of  powers,  87. 

purchase  of  property,  96. 

court  of,  173. 

settlers  in  N.E.,  244. 
Township  clerk,  — 

duties  of,  90. 

clerk  board  registration,  98. 

clerk     board      election      inspectors, 

99- 

Township  officers.    See  officers  of  town- 
ship. 
Township  politics,  — 

party  manager,  256. 

duties  of  manager,  256. 
Township  schools,  — 

support  in  Massachusetts,  42. 
Treason,  definition,  .166. 
Treasurer,  — 

township,  91. 

bonds  furnished  by,  91,  326. 

county,  275. 

local  agent  state,  319. 

approval  of  bonds,  327. 

U.S.,  381. 

Treasury  notes  as  money,  121. 
Treaties,  — 

state  cannot  make,  307. 

Congress  and,  369,  3 ;  369,  5. 

President  negotiates,  369,  5. 

Secretary  of  State  and,  379. 

for  fugitives,  320,  4. 

Senate's  assent,  398,  I. 
Trelawney,  song,  226. 
Trespasser,  defined,  10. 
True  bill,  193,  284. 
Trust  companies,  157. 
Trusts,  definition,  157. 


Tuition  schools,  41. 

United  States,  definition,  307. 

Venire,  definition,  201. 
Verdict,  — 

definition,  183. 

criminal  cases,  193. 

civil  cases,  211. 
Veto,  — 

mayor,  236. 

compared  with  referendum,  315. 

governor,  320,  3. 

bills  that  may  receive,  341. 

President,  369,  3. 
Vice-President  (U.S.),— 

elective  office,  367,  3. 

duties  and  choice,  374,  398,  2. 

salary,  374. 
Village,  — 

definition,  77. 

origin,  229,  231. 

incorporation,  230. 

township  features,  233. 

national  features,  233. 

courts  of,  239. 

plots  filed,  327. 
Virginia,  — 

plans  of  union,  362,  i. 
Voting, — 

method,  107. 

Australian  system,  304. 

Wages,  exempt  from  execution,  39. 
Wampum  as  money,  119. 
War  Department, — 

secretary,  382. 

business,  382. 
Wards  in  city,  236. 

party  managers  in,  255. 
Warrant.     See  civil  warrant. 
Warrant,  — 

search,  413. 

definition,  189. 

U.S.  commissioner  may  issue,  407. 
Warrant  officer,  395. 
Warranty  deed,  133. 
Water,  property  in,  126. 
Weapons  concealed,  313. 
Weather  Bureau,  387,  2. 
Weights  and  measures,  326. 
Western  Reserve,  63. 


344 


INDEX 


Western  Territory  and  slavery,  63. 
Wife,  — 

consent  to  sale  of  homestead,  38. 

sign  mortgage,  134. 

not  to  testify  against  husband,  181. 
Wild  animals,  property  in,  127. 
Will,— 

child  may  be  disinherited,  37. 

transfers  property,  132. 

dying  without,  224. 

in  sister  states,  353. 


Will,— 

not  U.S.  law,  401. 
Witnesses,  — 

not  against  self, 

compelled  to  testify,  181. 
Writers  and  inventors,  228. 
Writs  of  error  denned,  288. 
Wrongs,  public  and  private,  160. 

Youth,  period  of,  54. 
personal  habits,  61. 


345 


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